IPL 2021: Best Playing XI for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)
Royal Challengers Bangalore will begin their IPL 2021 journey against Mumbai Indians.
IPL 2021: “Ee sala cup Namde” is not just a phrase now; it is an emotion. It has been 13 years and RCBians are still waiting for their favourite franchise to lift that bright and shiny IPL trophy. However, last year, the Royal Challengers Bangalore had a decent IPL season. Although they went off track during the latter half of the tournament, they managed to sneak into the playoffs.
Royal Challengers Bangalore made a couple of big acquisitions in the recently concluded auction last month. Glenn Maxwell and Kyle Jamieson were the top buys, alongside the likes of Dan Christian, Mohammed Azharudeen.
After the addition of new players, Royal Challengers Bangalore will make another exceptional attempt to lift the title in IPL 2021- something which Virat Kohli-led team truly aspire for. Here we will look at the best-predicted XI of Royal Challengers Bangalore for the first match in IPL 2020.
Openers: Devdutt Padikkal & Virat Kohli
The likes of captain Virat Kohli, Aaron Finch, Josh Phillipe opened the batting with Padikkal on various occasions last year. In this season, an ideal opening combination for Bangalore would that be of Paddikal-Kohli.
Left-handed batsman Devdutt Padikkal will be the best batsmen to open the innings for RCB. The youngster in his very first season outscored even Virat Kohli and Ab de Villiers and ended the season as the leading run-getter for RCB. In 15 matches Padikkal scored 474 runs with 5 fifties at a strike rate of 125.
Kohli is the biggest name in world cricket today. He has always there for his team and in a recent concluded England versus India series, he declared that he will open the innings for his team in IPL as well. In the last edition, Kohli scored 466 runs in 15 games which consisted of 3 fifties. He has great experience as a skipper, who leads the Indian national team as well. Coming as an opener, he can provide a good start to his team.
Middle Order: AB de Villiers, Rajat Patidar & Mohammed Azharuddeen
AB de Villiers is an important batsman for Royal Challengers Bangalore. His ball-striking ability can destroy any bowling attack. He is also known as the 360-degree player and is a brilliant wicket-keeper too. Not just this, he can single-handedly win you matches any day.
The former South African batsman scored 454 runs last season at an average of over 45 and an incredible strike rate of 158. de Villiers was often burdened with role of playing as an anchor and as a finisher at the same time, with Kohli losing his wicket at crucial stages of the game.
Mohammed Azharudeen made his way into the limelight after scoring a 37-ball century against Mumbai in the Syed Mustaq Ali Trophy, earlier this year. The 26-year-old was acquired by RCB at his base price of Rs. 20 lakhs for IPL 2021. Royal Challengers Bangalore can put Mohammed Azharuddeen behind the wickets so AB de Villiers can focus largely on his batting.
The most lesser-known name in this list is of Rajat Patidar, he is a batsman and can also bowl a few spinners. He is from Madhya Pradesh. He has scored runs in T20s at a strike rate of 143.53 rpo. He recently scored a 100 against Andhra Pradesh.
Finisher: Glenn Maxwell
Glenn Maxell was the third most-costliest buy in IPL 2021 auction after RCB used Rs. 14.25 crore to sign him into the team. The presence of Glenn Maxwell at number six lifts a lot of pressure off AB de Villiers who can afford to play his natural game. Maxwell is also a handy bowler and has the ability to pick up a few wickets on his day. Given his price money, he is bound to be part of their starting XI and let’s hope for him to not let his IPL team down this time.
All-rounders: Washington Sundar & Kyle Jamieson
Washington Sundar had a poor IPL 2020 campaign as he managed to pick up just eight wickets in his 15 outings at an average of over 37. However, Sundar is running on high confidence after establishing himself a regular Test starter for India. He will be the leading bowler in the spin category and he can also manage to score while batting.
Royal Challengers Bangalore bought Kyle Jamieson for Rs. 15 crore.The New Zealand all-rounder will enter IPL 2021 with a huge weight of expectations from the RCB management and fans. Jamieson is a perfect number 6 batsman in T20 cricket as he is known to execute big strokes from ball one. Along with Maxwell, he will be the new finisher for RCB in the batting line-up.
Bowlers: Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Siraj, Kane Richardson
Apart from Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers, Yuzvendra Chahal is the next big name in this squad. If it weren’t for Chahal’s performances with the ball last year, RCB could have found themselves at the bottom of the table. He has the ability to provide breakthroughs to the team when there is a need for a wicket. In the upcoming season, Chahal will again be a wicket-taking option for RCB in the middle overs when the opposition will be looking to accelerate.
Mohammed Siraj is another player who is in high spirits after his recent performances in Test cricket. Siraj has this uncanny skill to strike early in the match as he can swing the ball both ways which make him a difficult bowler to getaway.
Siraj has played 35 IPL matches so far. During those 35 matches, he has picked 39 wickets with the best bowling figures of 4/32. Although he has a high economy rate of 9.08, he can destroy any batting attack on his day.
For the remaining bowler, RCB has plenty of options and paying attention to the experience, Kane Richardson looks like the perfect choice. Richardson has played 14 IPL matches and taken 18 wickets.
Ideal Playing XI For Royal Challengers Bangalore
Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli (captain), AB de Villiers, Rajat Patidar, Mohammed Azharuddeen, Glenn Maxwell, Washington Sundar, Kyle Jamieson, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Siraj, Kane Richardson