The three constants in life are death, taxes, and the Royal Challengers Bangalore failing to win the IPL championship. Every year, their followers hype them up to the point where you’d think they’d win, but they don’t. They haven’t won a single trophy in their 16 years of existence. Players on the team before left and won titles elsewhere, yet the team has consistently failed to satisfy pre-tournament expectations. When it comes to significant teams in sports, it’s a matter of creating an atmosphere of success and a long-term professional atmosphere while retaining essential players. This maintains the performance level and makes the squad memorable and appealing in terms of having an established reputation.
After a solid start to the season, they were once again eliminated after losing the all-important last game to Gujarat Titans in Bangalore. With names like Faf Du Plessis, Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Dinesh Karthik, Wayne Parnell, Michael Bracewell, Wannidu Hasaranga, and others, they have once again duped to deceive when it comes to determining their qualification status. We will examine the top three reasons why the Royal Challengers Bangalore have consistently failed.
1. No core and overreliance
The Royal Challengers Bangalore are well-known for being overly reliant on their three main batters. They have always relied on them, along with Virat Kohli, since the days of Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers. Only three batters would not be enough to win an IPL title. Looking at the other IPL teams that have gone on to win a trophy, we can see that they all had a core group of players, a decent set of all-rounders, and a long batting lineup. The core of RCB has always changed throughout time. They spotted promising potential in Devdutt Padikkal, but he was lost in the mega auction.
Since their core constantly changes, they haven’t fostered any players who are still with them. Jaiswal, for example, has been with Rajasthan since 2020, and Rurutaj Gaikwad has been with the Chennai Super Kings since 2020. In RCB, the necessity of a core and guiding new players need to be more robust.
They can compete for a playoff spot if they focus more on developing and adhering to a core. Now that they’ve identified two pacers who can bowl with the new ball in Mohammed Siraj and Harshal Patel, they’ll need another bowler to bowl in the death overs alongside Harshal. If they keep Shahbaz, they’ll need another spinner. This is how a core attributes team is formed.
2. Bowling Woes
The Royal Challengers Bangalore’s constant concern is their bowling, but more importantly, their lack of stability. They need to enhance the balance in their bowling and batting consistency. In batting, they beef up their top order, and in bowling, they have a couple of huge names who end up misfiring. Their inability to maintain consistency and consistency in their bowling frequently leads to losses in their games. The RCB lineup is badly lacking in balance.
The bowlers aren’t in contention due to too much likelihood or a lack of assistance. The absence of prior experience with Aravind, Harshal Patel, or Aakash failed to offer the necessary support to win games or titles. The Royal Challengers Bangalore’s strength is their batting, although they are as awful in the other departments. However, there have been instances where the squad has played as a whole and won by big scores, but those games are few and far between. This is because of a lack of stability. This has been the case for more than a decade and a half.
3. Lack of trust in big names
From 2016 to 2019, RCB had Shane Watson, Shimron Hetmyer, Shivam Dube, Moeen Ali, KL Rahul, Quinton De Kock, Chris Woakes, Marcus Stoinis, Heinrich Klassen, Tim Southee, Colin De Grandhomme, Nathan Coulter-Nile among others. With such an incredible roster of superstars, they have never been able to make their best XI. Since their last IPL final appearance, they have participated in two mega auctions and have failed to sustain key players.
While RCB frequently acquires exceptional players, they often fail to live up to their full potential for the franchise. Probably, the strain of playing for a big brand like Bangalore takes a psychological toll on the players. It should be emphasized that they are all now crucial members of their respective franchises. Rahul has been named captain of the Lucknow Super Giants following two years as captain of the Punjab Kings. Moeen Ali has one IPL victory with CSK, and QDK has two with Mumbai. It’s time for them to return to their roots and make players feel at ease.
RCB looked clinical on paper but fell short again. Anuj Rawat, Suyash Prabhudesai, and Mahipal Lomror are good players and need to be backed. Bangalore will be a squad to be feared if they can find balance in either department in the future.