Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) – IPL 2021
4 min read
Introduction
RCB released 10 players before the auction and added 10 new players to their roster, the highest among of all teams. It doesn’t take an eagle’s eye to see that these are actions of a team desperate to win. Desperation is good, it makes one hungry for success, but in all fairness, the same amount of desperation, if not more, has been there in RCB for quite some time now. Is this year going to be any different in terms of results? RCB’s problems for many years has been their bowling, but since a couple of seasons, their bowling depth has looked stronger on paper than their batting depth.
Suggestive Playing XI by Mihir Vohra
Mihir’s SWOT Analysis
strengths
- Bowling – This has been the fruition of bad seasons and long-term bowling but I think it is fair to say that to find a RCB bowling lineup as strong as this one, we would probably have to go back to the Anil Kumble era. Remember, Siraj, Saini and Sundar are internationally experienced individuals now while the foreign bowlers and reserves provide exciting opportunities as well as cushion.
- Presence of 3 spinners in their first-choice playing XI should allow them to tackle 3 games at Chennai and 5 at Kolkata without changing their balance drastically, if at all.
weaknesses
- Perhaps, a shorter tail could be considered as a weakness, putting all the more pressure on Glenn Maxwell, not only to score big and quick runs but also to shepherd the lower middle order, which trims off his freedom.
- Lack of versatility in their squad is a major area of concern. If they come across a dead pitch, a flat pitch, a slow pitch, the lack of versatility, at least on paper, seems to be a weakness.
opportunities
- RCB do have a couple of tender areas in their batting lineup, but that only opens up opportunities for the young and exciting individuals that RCB have secured the services of for this season. Mohammed Azharuddeen, Rajat Patidar and Suyash Prabhudesai are all coming off of a great Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and could very well find themselves thrust into the playing XI sooner than later.
threats
- Yuzvendra Chahal’s form could derail RCB’s hopes. His form hasn’t been anything to write about off late and if he fails to bounce back from this slump or do too little too late, RCB will struggle with their balance – they don’t have an Indian spinner to replace him.
- If consistency has been Rajasthan’s enemy, stability has been RCB’s enemy. Let me explain – RCB have a knack of changing too much too soon. They persisted with Saini despite a few failures and that brought results, but that, they don’t seem to do it too often.
player from unsold
RCB do seem to have their bases covered and there is no one in the unsold player list who can fit in into RCB or add value right off the bat.
player from another team
Robin Uthappa —> I realise that Uthappa is outspoken about his preference to bat at the top of the order, a position he wouldn’t necessarily get in RCB, Uthappa in the middle order of RCB would definitely add a lot of stability. And his experience of playing at Eden Gardens whilst at KKR could possibly have come in handy.
key player
Washington Sundar —> For all intents and purposes, Washington Sundar is the 2nd frontline spinner of RCB. He would be expected to deliver 7-an-over overs in the powerplays allowing Kohli to hold back his death bowlers. I am sure that Washi would also be expected to shoulder more batting responsibilities this season. His failure to deliver on the batting front could be excusable but his failure to deliver on the bowling front would really curtail Virat Kohli’s options.
prediction
Despite the presence of a strong bowling line-up, there are too many uncertainties in RCB for me to say with confidence that they would make it to the playoffs. I think we are in for another disappointment with RCB for this season.
Roster
Schedule
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