Best combined XI of RCB men's and women's team

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) purchased 18 players at the Women’s Premier League (WPL) auction, which took place in Mumbai on Monday, February 13. In fact, Bangalore were the first franchise to buy a player at the WPL auction. They purchased India Women's vice-captain and opener Smriti Mandhana for ₹3.4 crore. Mandhana ended up being the most expensive buy at the auction.

RCB’s other big purchases were Indian pacer Renuka Singh (₹1.5 crore) and dynamic keeper-batter Richa Ghosh (₹1.9 crore). Among the big foreign names, they went for Australian all-rounder Ellyse Perry (₹1.7 crore), New Zealand captain Sophie Devine (₹50 lakh), England captain Heather Knight (₹40 lakh), and South African all-rounder Dane van Niekerk (₹30 lakh). Bangalore had a purse of ₹10 lakh left after the auction.

Following the WPL auction, RCB now have both male and female cricket teams. In an interesting exercise, we try and put together the best combined XI of the franchise, featuring both men and women cricketers.

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Openers: Smriti Mandhana, Faf du Plessis (captain)

RCB skipper Faf du Plessis. Pic: BCCI

Smriti Mandhana and Faf du Plessis can open the batting for the combined RCB XI. Apart from providing a left-right combination, the two are also proven performers in the format.

Mandhana has 2661 runs to her name from 113 T20Is at a strike rate of over 120. Former South African skipper Du Plessis is now a globe-trotting cricketer. In 329 T20 matches, he has slammed over 8600 runs at a strike rate of 131.87.

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Middle order: Virat Kohli, Sophie Devine, Ellyse Perry, and Richa Ghosh

Virat Kohli retains his spot in the combined RCB XI. The former Bangalore captain is the leading run-getter in the history of the IPL, having amassed 6624 runs in 223 matches at an average of 36.20 and a strike rate of 129.15, with five hundreds and 44 fifties to his name. Much doesn’t need to be said about his credentials as a batter in international cricket as it is common knowledge.

Kohli will be followed by two quality overseas all-rounders in Sophie Devine and Ellyse Perry. New Zealand skipper Devine has 2966 runs in 117 T20Is at a strike rate of 121.30 and 110 scalps with her medium pace.

Seasoned Aussie cricketer Perry has scored 1515 runs in 135 T20Is, apart from claiming 120 wickets with her pace bowling. Both can make significant contributions with both the bat and ball.

Ellyse Perry of Australia plays a shot during the ICC Women's T20 World Cup group A match between Australia and New Zealand. Pic: Getty Images

Aggressive India Women keeper-batter Richa Ghosh can come in at No. 6. Only 19, she has played some fine cameos in her short T20I career and can accelerate the innings at the death. She has been India Women’s star performer with the bat in the two matches that they have played so far in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023.

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Finisher: Dinesh Karthik

Veteran keeper-batter Dinesh Karthik can retain his role as a designated finisher in the combined RCB XI. With Ghosh keeping wickets, he can play as a pure batter. Although slotted in at No. 7, he can be moved up the order if needed.

Karthik can play flamboyant knocks and make the difference between a good score and a winning score. With his unorthodox style of play, he can frustrate opposition bowlers.

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Bowlers: Shahbaz Ahmed, Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel, and Mohammed Siraj

Harshal Patel has been RCB’s standout performer in the last two seasons. Pic: BCCI

Left-arm spinner Shahbaz Ahmed brings variety to the bowling attack. He has the ability to strike key blows and keep things extremely tight as well. He is also useful with the willow and can be used as a floater in the batting line-up.

Sri Lankan leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga also finds a place in RCB’s combined XI. He is one of the biggest match-winners with the ball in T20s among the current generation. He has plenty of tricks up his sleeve and his T20 record speaks for itself. In 136 games, he has 186 wickets at an incredible average of 16.74 and an excellent economy rate of 6.74. He is also a handy batter lower down the order, who has five fifties to his name in the format.

The Indian pace duo of Harshal Patel and Mohammed Siraj will be the two frontline fast bowlers in the combined RCB squad. Harshal has been terrific in the last two IPL seasons for Bangalore, claiming 32 and 19 wickets, respectively. His slower balls have acquired legendary status in the T20 league.

Siraj has produced underwhelming numbers for RCB in the IPL. However, he has been in brilliant white-ball form for India over the last few months and has achieved the No. 1 ranking in ODIs. Siraj has been a much improved T20 bowler since IPL 2022.

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