Hyderabad: With a massive fan base backing and cheering them despite being empty-handed after playing 16 editions of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Royal Challengers Bangalore will be aiming to turn their slogan 'EE sala cup namade' (this year, the cup is ours) into reality. The last season was decent, if not a brilliant one, for the team as RCB won seven games, lost as many and ended up two points short of the Mumbai Indians who finished at fourth in the league stage and entered into the playoffs.
The star duo of Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis shined for the team, but none of the other batters were able to assist them with the willow. Virat scored 639 runs with an average of 53.25 while du Plessis amassed 730 runs with an average of 56.15. The franchise will rely on the duo once again, but they will need other batters to step up to the task as well.
Mohammed Siraj was prolific for the team taking 19 wickets from 14 games in the previous edition. Harsha Patel picked 14 wickets with an economy of 9.65.
Under the leadership of du Plessis, RCB have displayed potential but have never won the league. Ahead of the upcoming season, the franchise has strengthened their pace department with the addition of Joseph Alzarri (INR 11.50 Crores) and Lockie Ferguson (INR 2 Crores). With the mission to end the trophy drought ahead of them, here is the SWOT analysis of the team.
Strength
A star-studded batting line-up is the biggest strength of RCB while entering the next season. They have world-class batters in the form of Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis. They have an explosive batter like Glenn Maxwell, who can turn the game on its head. Add Rajat Patidar’s talent to it, it becomes a recipe for a strong batting line-up.
Cameron Green will also bolster their batting unit as he has a stellar performance in last season when he racked up 452 runs with an average of 55 in his debut appearance.
Weakness
While RCB have a lot of batting firepower, they have left bowling wide open for the other teams to exploit. Releasing Josh Hazlewood and Wanindu Hasaranga was a shocking decision from the side before the auction held last year. Also, they parted ways with Indian pacer Harshal Patel and it remains dubious whether the replacements can create a similar kind of impact.
Mohammed Siraj will lead the bowling unit while Alzarri Joseph, Lockey Ferguson, Yash Dayal, and Tom Curran will complement him with their spells. However, all the bowlers have an economy above 8.5.
Matters get worse when it comes to the spin department as the franchise have two spinners in the form of Karn Sharma and Himanshu Sharma. The team has failed to buy any major name in the auction after the departure of Yuzvendra Chahal and Wanindu Hasaranga from the side. Swapnil Singh is the other name in the team, and he has experience of seven IPL games.
Opportunity
Faf du Plessis will turn 40 this year, while Virat Kohli is already 35. Glenn Maxwell is 36-year-old and with three stalwarts entering the twilight of their career, they will need someone to pass the baton. In such a scenario young guns in the team like Anuj Rawat, Will Jacks and Cameron Green might get an opportunity to showcase stellar performance and prove their worth to become future stars of the franchise.
Also, it will be a good chance for Rajat Patidar to prove his mettle as RCB will be looking at him to shine with the willow and be their player to back on in the future.
Threat
The team’s journey has suffered a lot of setbacks so far in the history of the tournament. They usually have a star-studded line-up but have failed to deliver on multiple occasions. Despite having superstars like Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli, they have never lifted the silverware.
Not finding adequate replacements for both Josh Hazlewood and Wanindu Hasranga can also turn out to be a threat to the title chances of the team. Also, reliance on Dinesh Karthik in the lower order might hurt the title chances of the team as he had a poor season last time around.
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