IPL 2018: Royal Challengers Bangalore(RCB) SWOT analysis

The perennial underachievers of the Indian Premier League, Royal Challengers Bangalore will take to the field in the 11th edition of IPL with nothing but the title in sight. The three-time finalists(2009, 2011 and 2016) will once again be led by the charismatic Virat Kohli who would love to win his first major trophy as a captain.

In the auction earlier this year, the Bangalore-based franchise built up a formidable team and along with it, retained the core of their previous squad. While they already had Kohli, AB de Villiers and Sarfaraz Khan before the auction, they opted to use RTM cards on Yuzvendra Chahal and Pawan Negi.

RCB's costliest buy was England all-rounder Chris Woakes at Rs 7.40 crore and other important foreign imports include Brendon McCullum, Quinton de Kock, Colin de Grandhomme, Moeen Ali and Tim Southee. The likes of Washington Sundar, Umesh Yadav, Parthiv Patel, Manan Vohra, Mohammed Siraj and Mandeep Singh will lead the Indian contingent.

Here's a SWOT analysis of the Bangalore-based franchise.

Full Squad: Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Sarfaraz Khan, Brendon Mccullum, Chris Woakes, Colin de Grandhomme, Moeen Ali, Quinton De Kock, Umesh Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Manan Vohra, Aniket Choudhary, Navdeep Saini, Murugan Ashwin, Mandeep Singh, Washington Sundar, Pawan Negi, Corey Anderson(replacement for Nathan Coulter-Nile), Mohammed Siraj, Anirudha Joshi, Parthiv Patel, Tim Southee, Pavan Deshpande.

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Strengths

RCB can tear apart a bowling line-up on any given day

Batting line-up

Like has been the case in the first 10 editions of IPL, the Royal Challengers from Bangalore have a mean-looking batting line-up. With two of the best batsmen in the sport leading the line, RCB can tear apart a bowling line-up on any given day.

The addition of Brendon McCullum and Quinton de Kock will help them fill up the void created by the departure of Chris Gayle, who won them quite a few encounters single-handedly. Both Manan Vohra and Parthiv Patel have proved their mettle in the cash-rich league previously and are worthy opening options as well.

The duo of Patel and Vohra, however, might have to do with a spot in the middle order if captain Kohli decides to continue opening the innings in IPL. Youngster Sarfaraz Khan, who was retained by the side, would want to repay the faith shown in him by the team management.

Quality all-rounders

While Sundar is a certainty, only two of the four foreign all-rounders will be a part of the starting line-up

RCB, unlike the previous editions, have a strong all-rounder contingent for the 2018 season. The likes of Chris Woakes, Colin de Grandhomme, Corey Anderson, Moeen Ali, Washington Sundar and Pawan Negi will have a crucial role to play, down the order with the bat and with the ball.

While Sundar is a certainty, only two of the four foreign all-rounders will be a part of the starting line-up, provided both McCullum(or De Kock) and ABD feature in it.

Weakness

Umesh Yadav will have an important role to play for RCB this season

Pace bowling

Though the RCB team management left no stone unturned in building up a formidable squad, they might have missed a trick or two during the auction. Their pace battery, at best, makes for an average read on paper and the opposition would want to exploit this weakness of the Bangalore-based franchise.

Among Indians, Umesh Yadav is their most experienced paceman who has an economy of 8.21 in T20s and New Zealand's Tim Southee, his foreign counterpart, leaks runs at 8.27 runs per over in the shortest format of the sport. Losing Nathan Coulter-Nile to injury doesn't help their case as well.

Except for Yadav and Southee, RCB's pace bowling department, consisting of the likes of Kulwant Khejroliya, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini and Aniket Choudhary, lacks experience and might break down in crunch situations. In the past, Kohli's team has paid the price of fielding a batting-heavy side and the story might as well repeat itself in the 11th edition of the tournament.

Opportunity

Will the 2018 IPL be his first major tournament win as a captain?

Win their first ever IPL

If points earned during the group stages of the first 10 editions of Indian Premier League are totalled, RCB find themselves in the fourth position on the list, ahead of former champions Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals. However, when it comes to crossing the final hurdle, they have always found themselves on the wrong end.

The Bangalore-based franchise have made five appearances in the playoff stages so far, progressing to the final on three of those instances. The end result, however, has always been the same.

This season, though, with a revamped squad and a spirited captain who has gained reasonable experience as the leader of the Indian national team, RCB might just go all the way and win their first IPL.

Threat

The best possible opening combination for RCB?

Getting the squad balance right

Though the Royal Challengers have a strong squad and plenty of options to choose from, the outcome of their IPL season might be decided by how quickly they get the squad balance right.

RCB can field around six to seven different opening combinations in the tournament, depending upon which their middle order would have to be adjusted. A lot would depend on where Kohli decides to slot himself in the batting line-up as well.

If the Kohli-led squad manage to get the balance right early on in the tournament, it would be difficult for the rest of franchises to stop the RCB juggernaut.