Royal Challengers Banglore: IPL 2020 Preview

Virat Kohli is still on the quest of a maiden IPL Trophy. Will he win it this time around? Let's see!

"Yeah, very happy. To be fair, pretty much went according to plan." Mike Hesson, RCB's Director of Cricket Operations, made this statement after the auctions, conducted on the 19th of December in Kolkata, had concluded. Heading into the auction, the RCB management had as much as 27.1 crores in their pocket. With new structural changes made- Hesson as the Director Cricket Operations and Simon Katich as the Head Coach- and as many as 12 players released - including midseason replacement Dale Steyn - RCB was left with 13 players. They had a mighty task ahead of themselves. 

The RCB team has always looked good on paper but has never managed to replicate its quality in the form of an IPL trophy. Twelve seasons have gone by, and RCB has managed to make it to the finals only on three occasions: 2009, 2011, and 2016. However, they have never managed to lift the coveted trophy. Despite the excellent look of the team on paper, RCB has always had its loopholes: death bowling and lack of batting depth. The management has looked to address both these issues this time around. 

As far as the death bowling is concerned, RCB already has one death bowling option in Delhi sensation Navdeep Saini. In the previous IPL, he managed 11 scalps at an impressive economy of around 8 in the death overs at a ground like Chinnaswamy, also known as the graveyard for bowlers. With Umesh bowling three overs upfront in the powerplay and Navdeep Saini saved for the backend of the innings, RCB needed a foreign bowler who could provide two overs in the powerplay and two in the death. RCB has bought not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 different options to fill up that gap: Chris Morris for ten crores, Kane Richardson for four crores, Dale Steyn for two crores, and Isuru Udana for 50 lakhs. RCB will likely start with Morris in the playing xi, and if needed, they may drop Moeen Ali or Aaron Finch and bring in another bowling option. Isuru Udana may come into the picture in away games on pitches like the one in the Arun Jaitley Stadium or MA Chidambaram Stadium. These pitches are very slow, and the ball tends to hold onto the surface. Udana's cutters and other subtle variations will reign supreme on such pitches. 

The other glaring issue was the lack of batting depth. RCB has bolstered its batting unit with the addition of Aaron Finch, the Australian limited-overs captain. Not only does he provide a destructive batting option at the top, but he also provides for captaincy support to Virat Kohli. If they choose not to play him, then they have a fascinating talent in Devdutt Padikkal. In the recently concluded Mushtaq Ali trophy he emerged as the highest run-scorer with 580 runs from 12 games at an astonishing average of 64.4 and strike rate of 175. RCB can play both if Ab De Villiers keeps wickets, but that is an unlikely scenario. RCB needed a reliable batting option above Virat Kohli and another one below Ab De Villiers. With Finch likely to open and Moeen likely to take up the number 5 spot, the batting looks more or less sorted. It's just a matter of performing in the crunch situations, and if they manage to do so, they might finish in the top 4. 

My starting XI - 

Parthiv Patel(wk), Aaron Finch, Virat Kohli(c), Ab De Villiers, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Chris Morris, Washington Sundar, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Yuzvendra Chahal

Other serious contenders for the starting XI- 

Devdutt Padikkal, Dale Steyn

My prediction- 

Although RCB has failed to qualify despite boasting a phenomenal team, I feel they have the squad and management to go all the way. I see them finishing 4th on the points table.  

Please feel free to post your opinions in the comments section. 

Do share with others! Thanks!