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The Royal Challengers Bangalore team is known to spend a lot of money at the auction and buy the most expensive players. The team already possesses players like Virat Kohli and AB de Villers in their side, but this year, they had a very strange auction.
They tried to fill up all the gaps in their squad and in doing so, they improved their bowling unit, which was always a big concern for them. They now possess the likes of Nathan Coulter Nile, Chris Woakes, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Pawan Negi, Umesh Yadav, and Colin de Grandhomme, all who could dismantle any batting side.
However, they concentrated too much on the openers while picking batsmen and now they have six to seven players who could open for them. This resulted in a weak and uneven batting order. Now, they might have a lot of confusion which pair they should pick for the opening positions. Here are the openers that can open for RCB :
Parthiv Patel :
Parthiv Patel was picked by RCB for Rs 1.7 crore at the auction as they wanted an Indian wicketkeeper-batsman in their ranks. He was associated with Chennai Super Kings for the first three years of IPL, after which he moved to Kochi Tuskers Kerala. He then was bought by the Deccan Chargers at the IPL Auctions in 2012.
In 2014, he was bought by RCB but was traded to the Mumbai Indians in 2015. That year, MI won the title and Parthiv made an important contribution at the top of the order. In 2017, he scored 395 runs in 16 matches at a strike rate of 134.81. The major problem with Parthiv is that he plays well till powerplays but after that, he is not able to accelerate the run rate.
So, in that way, he becomes both the asset and the anchor for the team. As RCB already has players like Brendon McCullum and Quinton de Kock in their side, it is possible that Parthiv would sit on the bench. They also have Mandeep Singh who can also play as a wicketkeeper for RCB.
Mandeep Singh :
Mandeep Singh was first signed by Kolkata Knight Riders, after which he moved to Kings XI Punjab ahead of IPL 2011. He was bought back by the Kings XI Punjab in the 2014 Auction. However, RCB got him in their side ahead of IPL 2015.
He played an important inning of 45 runs of 18 balls for RCB which won them a ten oven match against KKR. A hard hitter of the ball, he was bought back by RCB in the 2018 auction for a price of Rs. 1.4 crore. He was awarded as the "rising star" of 2012 for his contribution of 432 runs in 16 matches for KXIP. Mandeep could also play as a middle-order batsman for RCB.
Manan Vohra:
Manan Vohra was bought by RCB for a price of Rs. 1.1 crore at the auction this year. He was first bought by KXIP in 2013 and was retained by them in the later seasons as well. An attacking opener, Manan scored 229 runs in 11 matches at an amazing strike rate of 144.02 in 2017, which also include a brilliant 95 run knock.
He could be the Indian opener for RCB to complete its squad. He knows how to build an innings and hence, could be a good option for the team. If Kohli bats at the number 3 position, Manan could be a regular opener for RCB.
Quinton de Kock :
Quinton de Kock is a rare talent from South Africa who is often compared with players like Adam Gilchrist and Kumar Sangakkara. He is not only a great batsman but also a sharp wicketkeeper. He scored three consecutive centuries against India in the ODI series which was held in February 2018. He grabbed the limelight among IPL teams in Champions League T20 2012 where he scored an unbeaten match-winning inning of 51 against the Mumbai Indians.
In the 2013 auction, he was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad. However, the Delhi Daredevils picked him in the 2014 auction and he continued to represent the franchise until last season. This year, he was picked by RCB for a price of Rs. 2.8 crores.
He has scored 726 runs in 26 IPL matches at a strike rate of 132.24. He also scored a century and five fifties in these 26 matches.
Brendon McCullum :
Brendon McCullum made the IPL's first ever match memorable with his blitzkrieg unbeaten 158 against RCB. The innings included as many as 13 sixes. He became the first man to score 1000 runs in T20 Internationals, and the first player to score two T20I centuries.
He has been playing in the IPL since it's inception in 2008 and has represented Kolkata Knight Riders, Kochi Tuskers, Chennai Super Kings, and Gujarat Lions. In IPL 2018, Baz will play for RCB as they paid Rs. 3.6 crores at the auction for him.
He has scored 2754 runs in 103 matches in IPL, which includes 2 centuries and 13 fifties.
Virat Kohli :
Virat Kohli is arguably the best batsman in the world at present across all the three formats. His exponential growth in international cricket has earned him a stature which is often compared with cricket legends like Sachin Tendulkar and Viv Richards. He has been associated with RCB since its inception and this year, he was retained by the franchise for a humongous amount of Rs 17 crores.
He is an aggressive batsman who is excellent in run chases and expressing his feelings on the field. He has scored 4418 runs in 116 IPL matches at a strike rate of 129.8. In the 2016 season of the IPL, he scored a staggering 973 runs in 16 matches at an average of 81.08 and an explosive strike rate of 152.03. That season, he scored four mind-blowing hundreds and seven fifties. Virat Kohli is undoubtedly the best opening batsman for RCB.
Conclusion
On paper, RCB looks a formidable squad, but when you look closely, you will find that there is too much confusion in the team. They have lots of holes to fill in their playing XI. They will be in a dilemma over picking their opening pair, which not only gives them an explosive start but also creates a good platform for the next batsman to carry on.
There could be 15 possible combinations with players like Parthiv, Kohli, Manan, Mandeep, Mccullum, and de Kock for the opening positions. They also have 18-year-old Washington Sundar who has opened for his home team Tamil Nadu.
If they want Kohli to bat at number 3 and want a good bowling side, they could go with Manan-Mandeep/Parthiv, but this pair looks a bit unstable and inexperienced. So, now they need to take a pick between de Kock and Mccullum to open the batting, which is again a very difficult task.
If Kohli opens the batting, then again, they will face a serious crisis in their middle order. Even de Kock and Mccullum as an opening pair is a very attractive option as both of them are clean strikers off the ball, but then, their bowling unit would look weak. So, on the whole, RCB will have a tough task ahead to get a correct batting order. They need to find an opening pair that gives the team a solid start. They also would need to create a stable middle order with the options they have.
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