IPL: 3 players who flattered to deceive under Kohli across different seasons

Chennai Super Kings clinched their third IPL title by beating Sunrisers Hyderabad in the final of IPL 2018. This season of IPL was one of the most closely contested one as all the teams looked evenly matched. However, there was one team that was given the tag of the pre-tournament favorite, Royal Challengers Bangalore. But as it turned out, it was yet another fiasco for the Bangalore-based franchise. RCB couldn't find the right combination throughout the tournament and some of the key players who have fantastic IPL records couldn't perform for RCB. And this has been the story of Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL.

Royal Challengers Bangalore has been one team in IPL that has always failed to live up to the expectations despite having a lot of star players in the squad. RCB have always had the luxury of having some of the biggest names in World Cricket like Virat Kohli, Ab de Villiers, Chris Gayle to name a few. But for some reason, RCB haven't reached the heights they would have liked. Virat Kohli, who has a brilliant record as a batsman, hasn't been that successful as a captain in IPL. Kohli has led the Indian national side tremendously well, with the Indian team reaching new heights at home as well as away under Kohli.

Unfortunately, Virat Kohli hasn't been able to replicate the success in the IPL. In the six seasons that Kohli has captained RCB, the franchise has never won an IPL title. Moreover, they have reached the playoffs only twice. Last two years have been worst as RCB finished 8th and 6th in 2016 and 2017 respectively in the points table. One of the major reasons for RCB's dismal show in IPL has been the poor performances of big names. RCB have always picked big names at the player auction but for some mysterious reasons, these players haven't done justice to the big bucks put on them. Some players who otherwise had a brilliant IPL record struggled to perform well for RCB.

We will look at 3 players who have a great IPL record but had a disastrous time playing for RCB.

---

#3 Brendon McCullum

McCullum warmed the bench in the latter half of the tournament

There were high expectations from Brendon McCullum going into IPL 2018. The swashbuckling opener has annihilated a lot of bowling attacks with his destructive batting over the years, however, things didn't turn out too well for McCullum playing for RCB this year. McCullum scored a meager 127 runs in 6 matches at a mediocre average of 21.16. Considering McCullum's own high standards much more was expected of him. Owing to his poor returns, McCullum was eventually dropped from RCB's playing XI and the former Kiwi skipper warmed the bench in the latter half of the tournament.

#2 Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik had a dismal time playing for RCB

Dinesh Karthik has been a kind of freelancer as he has played for a number of franchises. One of the franchises that Karthik has represented is Royal Challengers Bangalore. RCB had bought Karthik for a hefty amount of Rs. 10.5 crores for the 2015 season. Expectations were high from the wicket-keeper batsman but he failed miserably. He played 16 matches for RCB and scored just 141 runs at a dismal average of 12.81. Owing to his poor form, he wasn't retained next year. However, Karthik had a couple of good seasons in the next two years playing for Gujarat Lions. He scored 335 and 361 runs in 2016 and 2017 respectively. While this year, Karthik scored 498 runs and took KKR to the playoffs.

#1 Shane Watson

Did RCB make a mistake by not retaining Watson?

One player RCB will regret letting go of is Shane Watson. The experienced Australian is one of the most successful all-rounders in IPL history. Watson was associated with Rajasthan Royals from 2008 to 2015.

In 2015, the Royals were suspended for two years and Watson was back in the auction. Owing to his fantastic IPL record, RCB bought the Australian for a whopping 9.5 crores. But what followed was nothing less than a nightmare. Watson under-performed with both the bat and ball. In 2016 he scored only 179 runs, while in 2017 he managed a paltry 71 runs.

Because of his underwhelming performance, Watson wasn't retained by the franchise in 2018 and Watson played for CSK. Watson played some spectacular innings for CSK and played a crucial role in CSK's title victory. He made 555 runs at an outstanding average of 39.64 and a high strike-rate of 154.59. After watching him perform so well for CSK, are Kohli and RCB ruing the decision of not retaining Watson?