Ahead of the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020, the spotlight has been firmly fixed on the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). Under the captaincy of Virat Kohli, the-Bangalore based franchise is under more pressure than ever to prove their worth by winning their maiden IPL title to its loyal fans, with both time and patience fast running out.
Many RCB players have gone on to reveal their plans for IPL 2020 – AB de Villiers called his net sessions a ‘great challenge’, Kohli claimed that he doesn’t feel like he has been away from the game, and Umesh Yadav also acknowledged that the team owes a title to the fans.
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With their training sessions ahead of IPL 2020 in full swing, here we make an attempt of analyzing the RCB squad and have a look at how it shapes up for the much-awaited return of top-level cricket. Here are the strengths and weaknesses of the Royal Challengers Bangalore ahead of IPL 2020.
RCB – Strengths
#1 Overseas Batsmen
RCB has been known for having a strong batting line-up and despite losing players KL Rahul and Sarfaraz Khan, they still have a solid overseas core. To support Virat Kohli, RCB had roped in Australian limited-overs captain Aaron Finch, who is expected to open the batting. Apart from that, AB de Villiers has been one of the dependable players for the RCB over the years, and his recent good form in the 3TC Solidarity Cup points to him defying age once again in IPL 2020. Apart from him, new singing Josh Philippe, who has turned heads with his performances in the Big Bash League, is another viable option on the bench.
#2 Spin Attack
Having depth in their spin-attack will definitely be helping the RCB in the UAE conditions. The franchise’s leading wicket-taker Yuzvendra Chahal has always emerged as an attacking option and this season he can be the prime member to earn the Purple Cap. To support him, RCB has Washington Sundar, who is known for his accuracy.
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Moeen Ali is also a highly accurate bowler and has the experience of extracting turn on pitches that offer something. In addition to these three spinners, RCB also has support from the bowlers like Pawan Negi and new acquisition Adam Zampa.
RCB – Weaknesses
#1 Death bowling
There is no denying the fact that RCB is one of the worst teams when it comes to bowling in death overs. They attempted to shore up their fast bowling arsenal by buying Chris Morris and although his performance has been good in recent times, his numbers are indicating a different story. The issues that Mohammed Siraj and Umesh Yadav have faced in slog overs, and RCB’s only hope at the death this season appears to be Navdeep Saini, who picked up 11 wickets last season at an economy rate of 8.27.
#2 Lack of All-rounders
No disrespect to Sundar and Shivam Dube aren’t world-class bowlers yet. On the other hand, Chris Morris isn’t a genuine all-rounder although he can be a lethal option with a bat on his day, and Pawan Negi has scored 12 runs and taken 4 wickets over the past two IPL seasons.
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Barring Moeen Ali, RCB fails to have a don’t have world-class all-rounders who lend balance to the lower middle order. This would not only hamper them in IPL 2020 but it might also ensure that they never find the right team combination, which almost solely depends on all-rounders.
Royal Challengers Bangalore Squad for IPL 2020
Virat Kohli, Moeen Ali, Yuzvendra Chahal, AB de Villiers, Parthiv Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Pawan Negi, Umesh Yadav, Gurkeerat Mann, Devdutt Padikkal, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Navdeep Saini, Aaron Finch, Chris Morris, Josh Philippe, Kane Richardson, Pavan Deshpande, Dale Steyn, Isuru Udana, Shahbaz Ahmed
