So after all the uncertainty, it looks like there will be an Indian Premier League in 2020. The 13th edition of the IPL is set to begin on 19 September in the United Arab Emirates.
It presents another chance for perennial underachievers, Royal Challengers Bangalore to finally get their hands on that elusive IPL title. Despite boasting some of the biggest names in the sports year on year, including Indian captain, Virat Kohli, and South African legend, AB De Villiers, RCB has always fallen short of the finish line.
The best they have managed was second place in 2009, 2011, and 2016. RCB has been particularly poor in the last three seasons, finishing bottom of the league phase in 2017 and 2019, and sixth in 2018.
Supporting RCB is like betting on IPL. It can be so unpredictable!
On their day, they are unstoppable, but when they are off, they can be very awful. Unfortunately, those off days have been far too frequent in the last dozen editions of the IPL. This is a team that holds the record for the highest ever total in the competition, 263 and the lowest total, 49.
Every new season brings renewed hope for RCB’s long-suffering fans across India. The Karnataka club is one of the biggest and best supported in the country, thanks to its array of superstars. Can Kohli and co. finally, deliver in 2020?
Perhaps, playing on neutral grounds will help the team? Maybe they can thrive away from the pressure of the M Chinnaswamy Stadium? The Chinnaswamy was not exactly a fortress last season- they won just three matches on their home patch.
Over the years, the Royal Challengers have struggled with an unbalanced and inconsistent squad. They have always had a star-studded top order, but the same could not be said about their middle order and bowling attack.
They have tried to address that in their current squad. Yuzvendra Chahal will again be the lead spinner, with Washington Sundar, Pawan Negi and Englishman Moeen Ali making up their chief spin options.
Dale Steyn is the most experienced bowler in their pace attack, but Steyn is 37 and has been slowed down by a number of injuries and surgeries over the years. The South African has pulled off many incredible feats, but bowling RCB to the IPL title may be a bridge too far for the great man. They also have Australia’s Kane Richardson, Sri Lankan T20 specialist, Isuru Udana, all-rounder, Chris Morris, and the Indian trio of Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Siraj, and Umesh Yadav.
They are not the greatest bowling line up, but there is enough talent in there to win plenty of matches. It is all about getting the right combination and trusting the players’ abilities to execute.
RCB has a typically heavy top-order, with Australian limited-overs captain Aaron Finch joining Kohli and De Villiers. However, they may yet again struggle with their middle order. Looking through their squad, they are packed with all-rounders rather than specialist batsmen, with Ali (who can also open), Morris, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, and Shivam Dube being the most viable options. That doesn’t look too fearsome, does it?
While Bangalore has a couple of individual geniuses in their squad, they are not as complete as some of the other teams. Mumbai and Chennai have got to be favorites once again.
However, if Kohli and ABD go haywire, the Royal Challengers have always got a chance!
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