3 reasons why RCB should have signed a batter instead of Vyshak Vijay Kumar for IPL 2023

RCB started the season on a winning note, comfortably defeating the Mumbai Indians by eight wickets at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. However, they had a terrible day against the Kolkata Knight Riders, losing by a huge margin of 81 runs.

Reece Topley suffered a shoulder injury, while Rajat Patidar was ruled out because of an Achilles Heel injury. South African left-arm seamer Wayne Parnell and Karnataka's right-arm fast bowler Vyshak Vijay Kumar are their respective replacements.

We look at 3 reasons why RCB should have signed a frontline batter instead of Vijay Kumar.

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#1 Lack of frontline batters

RCB's loss against KKR exposed the lack of frontline batters in their starting 11. They rely heavily on Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell, and Dinesh Karthik. All these batters are 34 years or more, which also implies that they do not have as many high-quality young batters compared to other franchises.

Vijay Kumar has shown no potential with the bat at the domestic level. Adding him to the roster does not strengthen their batting lineup - something which could be a major problem for the franchise going ahead in the tournament if their big names do not step up consistently.

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#2 Sufficient Indian bowling options

Vijay Kumar has done well in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, taking 22 wickets in 14 matches at an average of 16.04, an economy rate of 6.92, and an average of 13.9. He was the highest wicket-taker for Karnataka last season, taking 15 wickets in 8 matches at an economy rate of 6.31.

However, RCB already have several Indian pace bowlers on their roster - Mohammed Siraj, Harshal Patel, Akash Deep, Siddharth Kaul, and Avinash Singh. The decision makes even less sense considering the lack of Indian batters in the team. Picking a domestic batter who could be used as an impact player might have been a more reasonable call.

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#3 Tough to expect an inexperienced pacer to step up in his first season

Even if Vijay Kumar is given a place in the RCB starting XI, it will be a tough ask for the bowler who will be part of his first IPL season.

While he may replace an out-of-form Akash Deep, will he be able to produce the numbers expected from a frontline bowler in the competition?