IPL 2019: Four reasons behind another disappointing season for RCB
Royal Challengers Bangalore - a franchise that has fielded a star-studded team in every season of the Indian Premier League. If a cricket fan picks an all-time XI for T20s then his first choice opener would be Chris Gayle and his first choice middle order batsman would be AB de Villiers.
To have these two in the line-up along with one of world's finest ever white-ball player in Virat Kohli, RCB should have filled their trophy cabinet. But the silverware has been eluding them since 2008.
Over the years they have had some of best T20 players in Ross Taylor, Kevin Pietersen, Darren Sammy, and Shane Watson in their squad. Yet it is ambiguous to see the way they have performed over the decade. 2019 was expected to be the year of witnessing a change in their fortunes, but they have failed to fulfill the expectations.
Let's look at four reasons why RCB had another disappointing season.
#1 Trading of Quinton de Kock
Going into the 2018 season, RCB was a formidable lineup as they had many good buys in the auction. Quinton de Kock at ₹2.8 crore was considered to be a masterstroke given the fact that the southpaw was among the runs in the international arena.
But to the surprise of everyone, de Kock was involved in all-money trade with Mumbai Indians for IPL 2019. Not only is he a good batsman, but also an outstanding wicket-keeper. Being an opener he has scored runs consistently for South Africa. Hence fans were astonished about the decision.
Just like adding insult to injury, de Kock has had his best ever IPL this season scoring over 450 runs, with a few matches to go. His consistency has helped MI qualify for the playoffs despite lack of runs from the likes of Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav.
RCB's long-standing problem has been their inconsistent middle order. Opening with him would have brought Kohli and de Villiers down the order which would have strengthened their middle order.
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