- Name: Royal Challengers Bangalore
- Captain: Virat Kohli
- Head Coach: Simon Katich
- Home Ground: M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
- Squad members: 22
- Best result: Finalists in IPL 2009, 2011, and 2016
- IPL 2020 result: 4th on points table
Every year, fans of this franchise keep asking the same question. Is this going to be the year for Royal Challengers Bangalore?! However, these fans have only had to deal with disappointment as RCB has never won a single title even after playing all thirteen editions of the Indian Premier League (IPL) so far. This time, not much is different apart from a few personnel changes and once again we ask, “Is this the year for RCB?!”
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They’ve decided to go simple with only 22 members in their squad but one negative we see is that there’s an overload of overseas players in their squad. AB de Villiers is someone who has been one of the highest scorers for the RCB franchise over the years and he bats very well along with captain Kohli, so he’s an automatic pick. Let’s not forget about Glenn Maxwell who bagged a whopping INR 14.25 Crore contract at the IPL 2021 Auction.
It was a forgettable season for Maxwell in IPL 2020, scoring only 108 runs in 13 games for Kings XI Punjab. However, he’s been in good form for the national side with both bat and ball. There’s another reason Maxwell’s purchase is a big boost for the team and that’s because another big name apart from the Kohli-ABD duo will take the limelight and burden off these two great players, which will help the dynamics of the team in IPL 2021.
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Talking about big purchases, they also spent big bucks on New Zealand pacer Kyle Jamieson who bagged a record contract of INR 15 Crore at the 2021 IPL Auction but ever since, he’s not been in the best of form. He’s got only 3 wickets in his last 7 international outings for New Zealand and this will be a huuuge worrying factor for RCB. Having paid a big price for him, he’s unlikely to be benched, making him the third overseas pick.
Finn Allen recently smashed 71(29) for New Zealand in a T20 against Bangladesh but the RCB top order is set ad he’s unlikely to be given a go. Daniel Sams is another player who may not make the best playing eleven which leaves us with Adam Zampa, Kane Richardson, and Dan Christian to be chosen from. Christian has been in great form in other T20 leagues but with Maxwell in the lineup, Dan may not make the cut either.
Yuzvendra Chahal has been their leading wicket-taker and in fact is among the top 10 wicket-takers in the all-time IPL list with 121 scalps in 99 games. However, there may be some added pressure on him since he’s the only spinner which means Zampa may be the fourth and final overseas pick. In case he’s not in the best rhythm, Kane Richardson may get the nod and Glenn Mxwell may be used as the extra spinner in IPL 2021!.
RCB – IPL 2021 Betting
Last year, Devdutt Padikkal was a revelation in his debut season with 473 runs in 15 games which included 5 fifties. He’s likely to continue at the top of the order with the skipper Virat Kohli who has 5,000+ runs and is the highest IPL run scorer of all-time. Let’s not forget that he had 3 fifties in the 5-match T20 series against England which was followed by 2 more fifties in the 3-match ODI series which shows he’s in shining form!
This team more or less picks itself and another reason that may keep overseas all-rounders Sams and Christian out of the side is that they have another spin bowling all-rounder along with Maxwell in Washington Sundar. He was good last season but over the last 6 months, he’s got plenty of international experience under his belt including a couple of match-winning performances in Australia, which will have boosted his confidence.
ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE IPL 2021 squad: Virat Kohli (C), AB de Villiers, Yuzvendra Chahal, Devdutt Padikkal, Glenn Maxwell, Harshal Patel, Daniel Sams, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Adam Zampa, Shahbaz Ahmed, Kane Richardson, Finn Allen, Kyle Jamieson, Dan Christian, Mohammed Azharuddeen, Suyesh Prabhudessai, Srikar Bharat, Pavan Deshpande, Sachin Baby, Rajat Patidar.
With the pressure off the Kohli-ABD duo, with multiple overseas and all-round backup options and with the desperate desire to get their hands on some silverware, we do believe that this could indeed be the year for RCB. The only roadblocks we see for RCB are some of the in-form franchises like Mumbai Indians, with whom RCB has had some nail-biting encounters. For all updates on RCB’s IPL 2021 season, stay tuned to ReadScoops.com…
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