Transfers made – 3; Transfers remaining – 12
Rohit Sharma out – Virat Kohli in
Jasrpit Bumrah out – AB de Villiers in
Mustafizur Rahman out - Shane Watson in
(uncapped) Karun Nair out – Yuzvendra Chahal in
Batting captain – Virat Kohli
Bowling captain – Shane Watson*
Note: Although rain is expected to intervene, since RCB play twice in three matches, I don’t see any issues with getting in their players.
Batting captaincy options – Gautam Gambhir, Robin Uthappa, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers
If it’s a deck that’s going to assist spin, like the one we saw in the last match, Uthappa pales in comparison to the rest. AB de Villiers has had a history of struggles against Piyush Chawla as well. Between Gambhir and Kohli, I would prefer the latter, as having Gambhir in my team is a differential in itself. I don’t want to be too smart and end up paying for it if he fails.
On the other hand, if it’s flat, you can pretty much go for anyone. I would again prefer Kohli here though, as he bats ahead of De Villiers and his style of play is better equipped to handle spinners. Also with KL Rahul likely to be promoted in the order today, the South African’s entry could be a little delayed.
Bowling captaincy options – Andre Russell, Piyush Chawla and Shane Watson
If it’s flat, it has to be the bowler from the team that bowls first. If it isn’t, I would go with Watson, as Gambhir has shown a tendency to bowl his spinners even at the death, which will have an effect on Russell's impact.
Nature of the deck – The last one was a proper turner, but there have been flat decks too. What the captains say at the toss will give you a better understanding of it.
Uncapped player order – Yuzvendra Chahal, Ankit Rajpoot, SK Yadav and Sachin Baby
RCB Fantasy Clinchers
Chris Gayle is likely to get dropped today in favour of either Travis Head or Tabraiz Shamsi. This could result in KL Rahul opening the innings, and with him in my team, that’s exactly what I need too.
Sreenath Aravind could make way for Iqbal Abdulla considering the nature of the deck and the number of right-handers in the side.
RCB could always do with Sarfaraz Khan’s batting, but they are hell-bent on selecting supposedly better fielders, which is where there will lose out on a playoff spot this season.
KKR Fantasy Clinchers
Unless Umesh Yadav has recovered, KKR should field the same playing XI again. Manish Pandey’s fantasy potential has reduced considerably due to the form of the KKR openers and the team’s inclination to promote Yusuf Pathan and Andre Russell. But if he comes in early, expect him to score some serious runs.
You need a couple of top notch pacers cranking it up to expose KKR’s weaknesses. None of their big hitters are good in slogging a pace heavy unit. But apart from Mumbai, and to an extent Delhi Daredevils (if they play Chris Morris and Nathan Coulter-Nile together), the other teams don’t have the resources to exploit it.
Match call – Turner, KKR; Flat, chasing team gets the advantage
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