IPL 2019: Royal Challengers Bangalore Squad - Complete list of players
Royal Challengers Bangalore had a rather forgetful IPL season in 2018. They failed to qualify for the playoffs and finished sixth on the points table with six wins from their 14 games.
The Bangalore franchise had to pay a high price for their selection blunders and poor team management. The think tank failed to figure out the correct playing XI for the first 10-12 matches. As a result, RCB had just three wins to show from 10 matches. They later gathered the steam and won three consecutive games but it was not enough.
Leading into the IPL 2019 Auction, RCB traded Quinton de Kock to Mumbai Indians. The Royal Challengers enjoyed a fantastic haul in the player's auction as they managed to enlist Windies sensation Shimron Hetmyer and Mumbai all-rounder Shivam Dube. Heinrich Klaasen was also bought at a steal price to replace De Kock.
RCB have assembled a 24-man squad for IPL 2019. With the batting maestros Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers at the top, they have a formidable batting unit. Umesh Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal complete a competitive bowling attack.
For the upcoming IPL season, here is how RCB’s complete squad looks.
Batsmen
Openers: Parthiv Patel (wk), Devdutt Padikkal
Middle-order: Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers, Himmat Singh, Akshdeep Nath, Shimron Hetmyer, Heinrich Klaasen (wk)
Royal Challengers Bangalore traded away de Kock but failed to recruit a dashing opener in his place. They ultimately bought Karnataka’s Devdutt Padikkal for 20 Lakhs. Parthiv Patel will be in line to be his opening partner unless the management thinks out of the box.
The middle-order is the shining department of this team. Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers are all-time great batsmen and together they can destroy any bowling attack. RCB improved on this with Shimron Hetmyer (4.2 crores). The left-hander from the Caribbean is an explosive batsman.
Himmat Singh and Akshdeep Nath are emerging talents from the Indian domestic cricket. 22-year old Himmat hails from Delhi and will be a tantalizing prospect. Akshdeep Nath has been a consistent performer for Uttar Pradesh.
South African wicket-keeper batsman Heinrich Klaasen disappointed in his debut stint with RR, he will be hoping to impress the franchise this year.