Every year, the Royal Challengers Bangalore take on the field with a lot of hopes and expectations but have always ended up with the tag of underachievers. They fell short once again as they were defeated by the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the eliminator last year.
Having made it to the playoffs in the IPL 2020, Virat Kohli and his team are eager to make another attempt to lift the elusive title in the upcoming season.
RCB made a couple of big acquisitions in the IPL 2021 auction. Glenn Maxwell and Kyle Jamieson were among their top buys in the mini-auction. Not only this, the franchise also went for some young and talented players like Mohammed Azharuddeen to strengthen their squad.
Let’s take a look at RCB’s ideal playing XI for the upcoming season.
1. Devdutt Padikkal
The young opener was one of the best performers for the Virat Kohli-led side in UAE last year. Opening the batting with experienced Australia batsman, Aaron Finch, Padikkal proved his mettle and impressed everyone with his brilliant batting skills.
The 20-year-old was the leading run-scorer for RCB with 473 runs in 15 innings at an average of 31.52 and a strike rate of more than 120.
2. Finn Allen
Ahead of the IPL 2021, the young New Zealand batsman was signed by the Virat Kohli-led side as a replacement for Australian player Josh Philippe. Interestingly, Finn Allen had initially found no buyers in the player auction for the upcoming tournament.
Allen had an excellent Super Smash League 2020-21 as he finished the tournament as the leading run-scorer with 512 runs at an unbelievable strike rate of almost 194.
In just 13 T20s so far, the 21-year-old has scored 537 runs at a brilliant average of 48.81.
3. Virat Kohli
Despite not winning a single IPL trophy since the inception of the league, Royal Challengers Bangalore enjoy a huge fan following across the world. Without any doubt, one of the main reasons behind RCB’s massive popularity is their skipper Virat Kohli, who has played several match-winning innings in the history of the tournament.
The RCB skipper has played 192 games so far and notched up 5878 runs at an average of 38.16 and a strike rate of 130.73.
4. AB de Villiers
The South African legend has been the mainstay of RCB’s batting line-up. The dynamic batsman has guided his IPL side to several memorable wins in the cash-rich league.
Moreover, Mr. 360 can easily switch from classical orthodox batting to innovative shots which makes him one of the most dangerous batsmen in the T20 competition.
In 169 IPL games so far, ABD has accumulated 4848 runs at an average of more than 40 and a brilliant strike rate of 151.91.
5. Glenn Maxwell
Despite having a forgetful season last year, Glenn Maxwell was one of the star attractions in the IPL auction in Chennai. The Bangalore-based franchise shelled out a whopping amount of Rs 14.25 crore for the Australia all-rounder, who had a base price of Rs 2 crore.
If we look at his IPL career, Maxwell has played 82 matches so far and amassed 1505 runs at an average of 22.13. However, the 32-year-old has a brilliant strike rate of 154.67 throughout his career.
With the ball, Maxwell has scalped just 19 wickets at an economy rate of 8.57.
6. Mohammed Azharuddeen
After making a name for himself in the domestic circuit, Mohammed Azharuddeen is ready to perform for Royal Challengers Bangalore in his debut IPL season this year.
During the 2020-21 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, the 26-year-old became the first batsman from Kerala to score a century in a T20 match.
Owing to his brilliant performances in the domestic tournament, the Bangalore-based franchise bought the young wicketkeeper-batsman at his base price of INR 20 lakh.
Azharuddeen has played 24 T20 matches so far, scoring 451 runs at a strike rate of 142. 27.
7. Washington Sundar
Washington Sundar enjoyed a good run last year as he bowled with a stellar economy rate of 5.96. He had taken eight wickets from 15 games but his main role in the squad was to choke the batsmen from the other end.
With his impressive bowling exploits and important cameos with the bat, Sundar will have an important role to play for RCB yet again in the IPL 2021.
Overall, the young all-rounder has scored 186 runs from 36 IPL games so far while picking up 24 wickets at an economy rate of 6.87.
8. Kyle Jamieson
The New Zealand fast bowler was roped in by the Royal Challengers Bangalore for a whopping amount of Rs 15 crore. The 6 feet 8 inches tall pacer attracted bids from the Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings. However, in the end, RCB broke the bank for him.
So far, Jamieson has played 50 games in the shortest format of the game and scalped 59 wickets.
9. Mohammed Siraj
Mohammed Siraj is another young gun in the RCB squad who can prove to be a reckoning force in the forthcoming edition of IPL. Last year, Siraj picked up 11 wickets from nine games with the best bowling figures of 3/8.
Overall, the 27-year-old pacer has played 35 games in his short yet impressive IPL career so far and bagged 39 scalps at an economy rate of 9.08.
10. Navdeep Saini
The right-arm fast bowler had a forgetful outing in the IPL 2020 as he finished the tournament with just 6 wickets in 13 games. But the Indian pacer can deliver good performance in the shortest format of the game.
In 26 IPL games so far, Saini has taken 17 wickets at an economy rate of 8.28.
11. Yuzvendra Chahal
Yuzvendra Chahal has been a go-to-bowler for Virat Kohli in the world-renowned T20 league. Over the years, the 30-year-old has been one of the most successful spinners for RCB. He has the ability to provide big breakthroughs.
Chahal has played 99 IPL games so far and picked up 121 wickets at an economy rate of 7.67.