5 reasons why Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) could win IPL 2019

Royal Challengers Bangalore have been one of the powerhouses in IPL year after year, but have failed to win the title even once. Despite these continuous failures, RCB has one of the biggest fan following for any team in the IPL.

Last season saw the Virat Kohli-led team finish 6th in the points table, and this caused some big-time changes in the team management. Daniel Vettori was sacked from the head coach position. Players like Sarfaraz Khan, Quinton De Kock, and Brendon McCullum were released before the IPL Auction 2019.

RCB has always been compared to the South Africa team which fails to deliver when the situation demands the most, in spite of having one of the best teams possible. Narrowly missing out on playoff births on two occasions, either due to run-rate or rain-affected games, and losing 3-IPL finals shows that, perhaps, luck is not always on their side.

Here are five reasons why RCB could be a force to reckon with in the upcoming season and what factors can help them achieve the coveted prize.

---

#5 A more focused AB de Villiers

Mr.360 will be raring to go

The year 2018 saw AB de Villiers announcing retirement from all formats of the game. This retirement raised a lot of eyebrows in the cricket fraternity, but a loss to the international cricket may well be a boon to Royal Challengers Bangalore.

A more relaxed and focused de Villiers will be arriving at the RCB camp this time around. Ever since his retirement, "ABD" has been traveling around the world and playing T20 leagues in countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, South Africa.

Without the pressure of the World Cup on his shoulders, a cool Mr.360 can be a dangerous commodity for any opposition bowlers. He has been one of the pillars of the RCB line-up along with Virat Kohli over the years, and will be looking to capture the IPL trophy.

#4 X-Factor Players

Can make his debut in style.

One of the key strengths of every successful team over the years has been their X-Factor players. Be it Andre Russell for Kolkata Knight Riders, Hardik Pandya for Mumbai Indians, Albie Morkel for Chennai Super Kings all played the role of game-changers were the reason for their team's huge success in this league.

Over the year's RCB has been looking for a middle-order batsman who can potentially be their X-Factor player, and they might have found one in Shimron Hetmyer. He can do what Glenn Maxwell did with Kings XI Punjab in the 2014 edition of IPL. If Shimron can get going in this IPL, a maiden title could be in sight for RCB.

Like always, the presence of an experienced leg-spinner in Yuzvendra Chahal improves the bowling strength of the team. But also watch out for the 16-year old crorepati Prayas Ray Barman and his sharp leg-breaks.

#3 Team Management and Support Staff

This combo has a history of lifting trophies.

We all know coaches and support staff play a crucial role in a team's success - from laying down strategies for matches to team selection.

After a dreadful IPL season 11, Royal Challenger Bangalore's management decided to sack Daniel Vettori as Head Coach, and promote India's World Cup winning coach Gary Kirsten to that position. The side will hope that Gary will recreate the same magic with the Virat led side as he did to the national team with MS Dhoni.

Similarly, the batting and fielding coach; Trent Woodhill and Bowling coach; Andrew McDonald were also sacked from their respective roles.

The new faces in the support staff can add a new leash to this team. Indian fast-bowlers like Mohammad Siraj, Umesh Yadav, and Navdeep Saini can be greatly benefited in the presence of former Indian speedster Ashish Nehra who is the assistant coach.

Apart from the support staff and the team management, RCB has one of the most loyal fan bases despite not winning a single IPL trophy.

#2 Strength of All-Rounders

Colin deGrandhomme and Moeen Ali

All-rounders are the ones that energize a team when the team is lagging, the players that will score a crucial boundary when the game is on the line or take a wicket or two to turn the game when the opposition seems to be cruising to the victory.

Colin De Grandhomme, Moeen Ali, Marcus Stoinis are few of the best all-rounders for their respective countries, and all of them are now part of the team from Bangalore. Since only four-overseas players can only make it to the playing XI, it is highly unlikely that all three of them will make into the final XI, but even one of them can be the reason for RCB's title triumph.

RCB's all-rounder department is not only filled with overseas players, but also with quality Indian all-rounders like Washington Sundar, Shivam Dubey, and Pawan Negi.

If these domestic players can perform well, then RCB will be the team to beat in this IPL.

#1 Captain Kohli

Biggest overseas victory in recent time

Virat Kohli, the batsman, has been the star player of the team for many years, but Virat Kohli - the captain, has failed to leave his mark in the IPL.

Wins can change any team member, let alone a captain. Especially a victory of this magnitude will have a long-lasting impact on any person.

The Virat Kohli that captained the RCB in IPL season 11 will not be the same person as the one who will be captaining the side in season 12.

The year 2018 saw India defeating the mighty Australians in their own backyard. The year also saw Virat conquering one of his personal quest that is scoring runs in England.

In the past year, Kohli has evolved to become a more calm, and a relaxed person, which is a key characteristic of shorter format captain. Virat will be eyeing to win both the IPL trophy and ICC World Cup in this year.

Follow Sportskeeda for all the updates on IPL 2019 fixtures, news, points table, live scores, orange cap, purple cap and fantasy tips.