The 15th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is underway as the trophy flies back to India with ten teams participating this year. With two new teams, namely, Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants, being introduced, the tournament has become more vying than ever, and to set foot into the top four would be a hassle for the teams this year.
Royal Challengers Bangalore, the team that has wonts of producing perilous batting orders, had a great run at the auction table this year. Bangalore paddled for nineteen players at this year’s auction and spent a whopping 55.45 crore out of their total purse. After being knocked out for a hattrick in 2017, 2018, and 2019, Bangalore picked up some consistency by qualifying for the playoffs for the last two seasons. However, with a new season in the hand and a new set of players on the sheets, it has become even more strenuous for teams to enter the top four.
Royal Challengers Bangalore, the team that has wonts of producing perilous batting orders, had a great run at the auction table this year. Bangalore paddled for nineteen players at this year’s auction and spent a whopping 55.45 crore out of their total purse. After being knocked out for a hattrick in 2017, 2018, and 2019, Bangalore picked up some consistency by qualifying for the playoffs for the last two seasons. However, with a new season in the hand and a new set of players on the sheets, it has become even more strenuous for teams to enter the top four.
Also Read: With IPL back in India, gate revenues expected to boost franchise value
There is no disputing the fact that Bangalore has a well-balanced squad for this season and with a proper approach, they can deploy their ploys on any given day. Since the inception of IPL, one of the strengths of Bangalore is its tempestuous batting order. Players like Chris Gayle, Kevin Petersen, Ab De Villers have all been a part of this franchise. Following their custom, this season they managed to rope in batters like Faf Du Plessis, Dinesh Karthik, and young Indian talents like Anuj Rawat or Mahipal Lomror at the auction. On the contrary,
Bangalore did left all of us in a startle by letting go of players like Yuzvendra Chahal or Devdutt Padikal. In the absence of Devdutt Padikkal, captain Faf Du Plessis and Virat Kohli are the top contenders to open the innings. Faf was the second-highest run-scorer in the previous season of the league and has secured 4,714 twenty-20 runs over the years. Now with the leadership role in hand, it would be interesting to see how Faf commands his batting. The 23-year old Anuj Rawat is expected to fill the number three position for the franchise. Anuj has previously played for Rajasthan Royals and averages over 30 in the domestic circuit. Moreover, Anuj also gives them a secondary wicket-keeping option if Karthik faces an unfortunate injury. Glenn Maxwell in the middle order and Dinesh Karthik playing the finisher role makes the Bangalore batting order even more versatile. The left-handed Mahipal Lomror can also play the role of aggressor and can provide a handful of overs with the bowl in his hand.
As every rose has its thorn, Bangalore too has a shortcoming in their squad. Although Bangalore has a settled batting order, they failed to purchase adequate backup options for their domestic batting. They only picked three uncapped Indian batters in their squad which can be a quandary from a whole season’s perspective. They also purchased overseas players like Finn Alenn and Sherfane Rutherford, but again can you really bank on them to execute the expected results on any given day?
Bangalore has a great taste in success when it comes to the batting department but, their bowling goes unplumbed. However, that is not the case for this season. Bangalore went all-in to ameliorate their bowling attack by attributing over 35 crores to the bowlers in this year’s auction. They also managed to retain Harshal Patel and Wanindu Hasaranga at the auction for a staggering price of 10.75 crores discretely.
The current purple-cap holder Harshal Patel will be leading the bowling attack for the franchise. The right-arm seamer picked up 32 wickets last season and played a pivotal role in Bangalore’s success. Moreover, Mohammed Siraj, who showed a brilliant display of death bowling last season is also expected to provide valuable inputs this time around with the bowl. Bangalore has also got a good combination of overseas seam bowlers with the likes of Josh Hazlewood, David Willey, and Jason Behrendroff.
As far as their spin department is concerned, they can bank on the Srilankan leg-spinner
Wanindu Hasaranga. Wanindu took sixteen wickets and was the leading wicket-taker in the World T20 2021. Adding to that, he also possesses the ability to hit the ball into the bleachers. To complement Wanindu, they have Karn Sharma and Shabaz Ahmed in the spin department. Karn made his IPL debut for Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2013 and has picked 59 wickets with an economy of 7.91 since then. Shahbaz has been a part of Bangalore since the 2019 season and has picked 13 wickets for them with a moderate economy rate. The left-arm orthodox can also give you the option of spin in the powerplay as he likes to keep the ball straight by targeting the stumps.
All-in-one, Royal Challengers Bangalore looks pretty skillful and decent on paper. They will be again starting the campaign again as one of the front runners to lift the trophy this year. If Bangalore plays with a well-balanced squad and executes their plans appositely, they can unquestionably lift their maiden IPL title. The IPL is all set to commence from 26th March with the first game being played between Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders in the Wankhede Stadium.
