Hyderabad: For the Royal Challengers, the journey has been rather upsetting. I mean, they’ve always had immense potential, as far as I have observed.
But something or the other has gone wrong every time, something or the other has failed to click. Seven editions into the Indian Premier League’s grand entry into the world of slambang cricket, the RCB team has not once managed to kiss the coveted silverware.
For two-time IPL and two-time CLT20 runners-up, it’s always been a whisker’s breadth away from a final win.
They’ve fluctuated a lot in the seven editions that they’ve played. From languishing at the bottom in the first edition to being table toppers in 2011, they’ve seen highs and lows, but never touched the pinnacle.
Maybe, this is their year. RCB’s fortunes swung towards the brighter side when Big Boss Mallya decided to recruit the services of Windies’ Chris Gayle. They laughed at him, but soon the tides turned and he began raining blows on other teams.
Together with new-found support from Virat Kohli, their batting department looked. The team is being steered by Virat Kohli, who’s already proved his mettle as a captain material on an international platform against a rather challenging team.
Therefore, there is no questioning that he’s one of the most aggressive one around. Their batting line-up looks destructive and if even one of them is having a good day, we know who will end up having a tough time.
With AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle right there, need I say more about the horsepower? Then there’s Virat Kohli and Dinesh Karthik as well.
The bowling battery is unusual. While World Cup’s Man-of-the-Series Mitchell Starc is unavailable, there’s Sean Abbott, who, pretty sure must be raring to go.
There are also a couple of talented players like Abu Nechim, Rilee Rossouw and Ashoke Dinda as their weapons. Fresh from a very productive World Cup, coach Daniel Vettori will surely have a few pearls of advice to spill as well.
Key players: AB de Villiers, Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli
Squad: Virat Kohli (capt), AB de Villiers, Chris Gayle, Mitchell Starc, Nic Maddinson, Varun Aaron, Ashok Dinda, Harshal Patel, Vijay Zol, Abu Nechim, Sandeep Warrier, Yogesh Takawale, Yuzvendra Chahal, Rilee Rossouw, Iqbal Abdulla, Manvinder Bisla, Mandeep Singh, Dinesh Karthik, Subramanium Badrinath, Darren Sammy, Sean Abbott, Adam Milne, David Weise, Sarfaraz Khan, Jalaj Saxena, Shishir Bhawane.