Better balance but RCB’s fortunes still rest on the Kohli-ABD axis

Royal Challengers Bangalore will once again head into an IPL season with their fortunes resting on their magical duo of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers.

RCB have traditionally had a top heavy side, with their flimsy bowling lineup invariably being their Achilles heel over the years.

The Bangalore outfit had a major decision to make early on in the auction, as they had to decide whether or not to buy back their former hero Chris Gayle. But they decided against it, as RCB finally let go of the West Indian champion.

They made two big acquisitions in the auction, when they bought Kiwi veteran Brendon McCullum and South African wicket-keeper batsman Quinton de Kock for heavy sums.

RCB beefed up their bowling department, as they brought in Umesh Yadav, Pawan Negi, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Siraj and Washington Sundar to form a quality Indian bowling attack.

Royal Challengers Bangalore invested heavily in foreign all-rounders, as bought accomplished stars in Chris Woakes, Colin de Grandhomme and Moeen Ali. With just an Indian wicket-keeper missing in their squad, RCB went back for Parthiv Patel as they bought the experienced star for Rs 1.7 crores.

While this RCB squad has a better balance as compared to previous years, the Bangalore franchise will look to Kohli and De Villiers to take this team to another level.

RCB fans will remember that Chris Gayle’s superhuman efforts could not take RCB to the title in 2011 and neither could Kohli’s magical 2016 season end in lifting the IPL title. RCB’s bowling will once again be crucial this season, as their fans will hope that 2018 could be the year when they finally break lift that elusive IPL title.

FULL SQUAD : 

Virat Kohli (retained 17 c), AB de Villiers (retained 11 c), Sarfraz Khan (retained 3 c), Brendon McCullum (3.6 c), Chris Woakes (7.4 c), Colin de Grandhomme (2.2 c), Moeen Ali (1.7 c), Quinton de Kock (2.8 c), Umesh Yadav (4.2 c), Yuzvendra Chahal (6 c), Manan Vohra (1.1 c), Kulwant Kejroliya (85 Lakh), Aniket Choudhary (30 Lakh), Navdeep Saini (3 c), Murugan Ashwin (2.2 c), Mandeep Singh (1.4 c), Washington Sundar (3.2 c), Pawan Negi (1 c RTM), Mohammad Siraj (2.6 c), Nathan Coulter-Nile (2.2 c), Anirudha Joshi (20L), Parthiv Patel (1.7 7 c), Tim Southee (1 c), Pavan Deshpande (20L).