The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) franchise is one of the most followed teams in the IPL. The red army has been blessed with a loyal and ardent fanbase. In fact, such is their following that if someone knows nothing about the IPL’s previous winners, they would think that this team has been a dominant team for the past 13 years. Alas, that hasn’t been the case. Although the team has reached the grand final on a couple of occasions in 2009 and 2016, their performance in the last three years has left much to be desired. What makes matters worse is that they are lead by the Indian captain and the most charismatic cricketer in International cricket today.
Virat Kohli has publicly gone on to say that he fancies his chances in IPL 2020. He also went on to say that this year looks the most promising since the miraculous 2016. Many supporters are of the opinion that this time they have plugged a few holes and it could finally be their year. In the auction gone by, RCB did get their hands on two very experienced and match-changing T20 players in Aaron Finch and Chris Morris. While this does change the dynamics a bit, will it be enough? Did RCB commit a faux pas by letting go of Shimron Hetmyer? What about their perennial problem of death bowling? We decided to do a detailed analysis;
SWOT Analysis
Strength – It is a no brainer that RCB’s strength is their top 4. With 3 International stalwarts i.e Aaron Finch, Virat Kohli, and De Villiers, RCB has the best Top 4 in IPL 2020. Should ABD take the gloves, the Virat Kohli led franchise could very well open with star domestic performer Devdutt Paddikal. Now that is a solid set of 4 batsmen, all very adept at playing spin.
Weakness – RCB’s perennial problem has been their death over bowling. Frankly, that is still their biggest concern going into IPL 2020. While most people didn’t realize this, the pulling out of Kane Richardson is a huge blow for the Bengaluru-based franchise. Dale Steyn is a modern great, but his death bowling and white ball bowling has left a lot to be desired in the recent past. Apart from Navdeep Saini, RCB doesn’t have a go-to death bowler in their line up.
Republic World
Opportunities – RCB’s big opportunity going into IPL 2020 is their young Indian talent. The likes of Washington Sundar, Shivam Dube, Navdeep Saini are the ones who will be itching to show their prowess. Should this peripheral Indian bunch have a good tournament, the franchise will be well-placed to make it to the Top 4.
Threats – The threat for the two-time finalists is their lower middle-order. Someone like Moeen Ali walking in at number 5 is probably one number too high for him. Their lower middle order containing Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Chris Morris, and Washington Sundar isn’t very dependable. This will again put additional pressure on the likes of Virat and AB.
Cricket Cult’s Ideal RCB playing XI for IPL 2020
Aaron Finch, Devdutt Paddikal, Virat Kohli (c), AB De Villiers (wk), Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Chris Morris, Washington Sundar, Navdeep Saini, Umesh Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal
It is very difficult to predict what Virat Kohli will do when it comes to the playing xi in IPL 2020. However, with the available squad, this is the most balanced team. They bat till number 8 and have 3 seamers and 3 spinners, with the additional option of Shivam Dube, should the need arise. Ideally, Kane Richardson, who specializes in death bowling for Australia and Melbourne Renegades would have been a good fit. However, the right-hander pulled out of IPL 2020 at the last minute as his wife is expecting.
Key Players
Any team that has Virat Kohli and AB De Villiers doesn’t have to look any further when it comes to key players. If Virat and Mr 360 have a season half as good as 2016, then their chances of qualifying to the top 4 are sky-high. However, apart from the famed duo Aaron Finch and Yuzvendra Chahal are the other key figures in the team. Finch because the start is absolutely crucial. Him performing well would take off the burden from the big 2. In spin-friendly UAE conditions of IPL 2020, RCB will be hugely reliant on Yuzvendra Chahal’s magic. His wicket-taking ability in the middle overs will keep them in good stead.
Bell weather players
Bell weather players are those players whose performance will be directly proportional to the team’s performance. They might not be the superstars of the team like Kohli and ABD, but they will make the difference. We all know that Kohli, Finch, Chahal, ABD will come good in the tournament. The fact is that Kohli and Chahal have had two or three good IPL’s, but that hasn’t resulted in the team doing well. This is because they haven’t been well-supported by what I call the ‘bell weather’ players. So who are RCB’s bell-weather players? According to Cricket Cult, Navdeep Saini, Moeen Ali and Shivam Dube are these players. As discussed earlier, RCB’s biggest drawbacks going into IPL 2020 are death bowling and lower-middle order batting. It is essential for the franchise that Moeen Ali has a good tournament, both with bat and ball. If Shivam Dube can finish the innings with a bang, RCB is half-way there. Their best death bowler, Navdeep Saini has the responsibility of plugging their biggest hole.
Cricket Cult’s Predictions
This may hurt the RCB fans but according to us, RCB will finish either 5th or 6th. There are other teams with way better balance. The hard facts are that even before the lockdown, ABD hasn’t played much cricket and will take time to come into his own. Death bowling is still a big problem and Morris’ ability with the bat in UAE conditions also leaves a lot to be desired. Here’s hoping for all you RCB fans out there that we are proven wrong and they have a brilliant and memorable IPL 2020.