IPL 2018: How Virat Kohli's men might feature in their season opener

Royal Challengers Bangalore is one of the three teams, who are yet to win the IPL. Surprisingly, RCB is also one of the teams that had some superstars of the game in their line-up. In previous editions, even if they had firepower in the batting, they lacked the bowling resources to back it up. This time, they seem to have strengthened their bowling department with plenty of options.

It is safe to say that, this year, they have their best squad yet, in the IPL. Actually, RCB are spoiled for options, and it is going to be one of the toughest tasks for the team management, and, for us, to pick their best XI. There are quite a few combinations possible, but, we will be looking at the best possible starting XI, which might change over the course of the tournament.

Openers (Brendon McCullum and Parthiv Patel)

Brendon McCullum set the tournament on fire, literally, from the first game. When he is in the squad, he has to be in the XI, such is his proven prowess. The Former New Zealand skipper will be preferred over Quinton de Kock owing to later's recent form slump. McCullum will have a license to go after the bowlers in the powerplay.

With McCullum as one opener, Parthiv Patel needs to be selected as the other opener and wicket keeper. Parthiv Patel is a sort of player who will give you quick fire thirty-something runs at the top, consistently. The left hand-right hand combination will also be helpful for the RCB.

Middle order (Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Mandeep Singh)

There's not much to say about the class of Virat Kohli, that hasn't been said already. The heart of RCB, Kohli would have to retake his batting position at number three. Needless to say, he, along with AB de Villiers will be the key to RCB batting line-up. Virat Kohli will be eyeing the trophy this year, which has eluded RCB for the last decade.

From one champion to another, if Virat Kohli is all about class, AB de Villiers is all about innovation. The South African has already shown everyone, what he is capable of. This time, though, De Villiers will have to play the role of a finisher, as RCB lacks an established finisher down the order. This can also prompt RCB to utilize AB de Villiers' abilities lower down the order, as he has the best strike rate in the tournament, during the overs 16 to 20.

Mandeep Singh can be chosen over Sarfaraz Khan, just because we haven't seen much of Sarfaraz Khan recently. Yet, the youngster will get opportunities as the tournament progresses. Mandeep Singh, on the other hand, has been in pressure situations before and is known to be a destructive batsman, whom RCB will need lower down the order.

All-rounders (Colin de Grandhomme, Chris Woakes and Washington Sundar)

It is really hard to choose between Colin de Grandhomme and Moeen Ali. Grandhomme will get an edge over Ali owing to his medium pace bowling. Grandhomme impressed with the ball last year, playing for KKR, but, he will need to do considerably well with the bat if he is to be one of the RCB's mainstays. Grandhomme will need to finish the games and give the impetus to the RCB innings in the final overs, failing which, he can be ably replaced by Moeen Ali.

Another ex-Knight, Chris Woakes will have an important responsibility with the ball in hand, after Coulter-Nile has been ruled out of the tournament. Chris Woakes has been in good form in recent times and will have to continue his good work. He is more than handy with the bat which will provide balance to the RCB line-up.

An exciting young talent, Washington Sundar had a breakthrough year in 2017. His ability to bowl in the powerplay with an economy rate of around 6 is outstanding, to say the least. Washington Sundar is also a handy batsman, able enough to bat in the top order. Now, it remains to be seen, how he shines, playing for RCB, especially, in the batting department.

Bowlers (Umesh Yadav, Mohammad Siraj and Yuzvendra Chahal)

This is going to be an important tournament for Umesh Yadav. With the likes of Jaspreet Bumrah, Shardul Thakur and Jaydev Unadkat making their way into India's limited overs squad, Umesh Yadav needs to up his game and prove his worth as an able limited overs bowler. Umesh Yadav is a wicket-taking bowler, which sometimes hampers his economy rate. Umesh Yadav will have to lead the pace attack for the RCB.

Mohammad Siraj will get a nod in the playing XI despite his recent dismal performances. Virat Kohli has shown faith in Siraj and he will be feeling pressure to deliver. Mohammad Siraj showed his heroics, last year, playing for SRH. He just needs one good game to get going again.

When we say, in the past few years, RCB has had a mediocre bowling attack, we certainly are excluding this young man. The leg-spinner has been the peak of RCB's bowling attack in the recent times, and, therefore, was acquired back by the team in the Auctions. Yuzvendra Chahal will be Virat's go-to bowler in the times of crisis. This time around, the leg-spinner will get an equally adept partner in the form of Washington Sundar. It would be interesting to see the spin-twin reigning supreme over the opposition.

Overall, RCB looks good to be considered one of the serious contenders for the title this year. Although there are some grey areas like Finishers and Death bowling, they have a good bench strength to tackle these issues as the tournament progresses.