IPL 2019 Squad Analysis: Royal Challengers Bangalore

#3 AB de Villiers

AB's form will be integral to RCB's campaign in the 2019 edition of IPL

If there's some player who can be called a magician with the bat, it is this man. The Superman, AB de Villiers has been the Veeru to RCB's Jai, Virat, and he has supported the captain throughout.

Batting at number 3 this year, AB's role will be all the more crucial in getting his side over the line at challenging junctures. On his day, he can score very big and at strike rates well beyond 200, but what the team would need from him this time is consistency.

#4 Shimron Hetmyer

Hetmyer has been the Auction's biggest talking point

Hetmyer is an interesting buy that RCB had made this year. It will be exciting to watch how he goes for this RCB side, alongside world greats such as Virat and AB. Hetmyer has left no stone unturned in the opportunities he has got in the CPL and international Cricket, but IPL will be a stage that will uplift him financially if performed well.

#5 Moeen Ali

Ali will have to play the lead all-rounder's role for RCB by finishing off innings and also delivering with the ball on turning tracks

Moeen Ali's batting has declined over the past year and that would be a cause of concern for the RCB. However, given that he will play the World Cup for England, soon after the IPL, he will try his utmost best to perform wherever he plays.

Moeen got opportunities very late last year and still did fairly well. This year, he is expected to be in the starting XI unless any particular pitch assists the seamers more, in which case, Stoinis is expected to replace him.

#6 Shivam Dube

Dube is best suited for the number 6 spot, finishing off games with his offensive strokes and also bowling a few overs of seam in between

Shivam Dube has been the talk of the town, fetching a whopping ₹5 crores right from a base price of only ₹20 lacs. That shows the expectations and hopes the franchises have from him. He certainly could go on to play for India in T20s soon, if he does well in the IPL. It would be interesting to see how he fares in the IPL against quality domestic and foreign bowling.

#7 Washington Sundar

Sundar had a dry spell in IPL 2018 but would look forward to redemption this year

While Washington Sundar had quite a forgettable 2018 edition of IPL, it will be his deepest desire to undo the mishaps of 2018 by again announcing himself for national selection post-IPL 2019 by making it memorable for himself.

#8 Nathan Coulter-Nile

One of the most underrated T20 bowlers in the world, Coulter-Nile has proven his skills and abilities time and again. He can bowl extraordinarily with the new ball, as well as be highly effective at the death with the ability to deliver yorkers at will.

Coulter-Nile is an outstanding bowler in itself and above that, he is also a good striker of the cricket ball and can hit a handful of big shots in the death overs.

#9 Umesh Yadav

Umesh was Virat's go-to man for picking wickets and breaking partnerships in 2018 IPL

Yadav had an overwhelming season with the ball for RCB in 2018. He had never looked as effective in the T20 format, but he overcame his weakness of being prone to get hit a bit too much. He picked some crucial wickets for his side and also won matches for them. Umesh will certainly be in the starting XI.

#10 Yuzvendra Chahal

Yuzvendra Chahal

The India regular has made it a habit to do well for RCB, be it at the Chinnaswamy stadium or any other franchise's home ground. Chahal has added a lot of variations to his repertoire apart from his stock leg-breaks.

He has learned from fellow teammates, coaches, former greats as well as from his own experiences and thus, is the trump card for RCB as far as spin bowling is concerned.

#11 Mohammad Siraj

Siraj has been above par in the IPL but has failed to make the most of his opportunities while dawning the national colours

Siraj has been among those few bowlers who have an above average IPL season, or in fact, seasons but are still not featuring in the top wicket-takers' list, and thus are ignored. Siraj has been very very consistent over the past couple of years and even though he doesn't pick too many wickets, he bowls in the right areas and is fairly effective as a fast bowler.

Possible Replacements

Gurkeerat is a good replacement for Shivam Dube and can offer some off spin too.

Stoinis can come in, in place of Moeen Ali at number 5 in case the team needs less of spin and more of seam and can't let Washington out.

Colin de Grandhomme can come in at number 6 and replace Stoinis/Ali during the latter half of the IPL when they would have taken off for their World Cup preparations. Then, Dube could bat at 5 and Grandhomme at 6.

Pawan Negi can replace Sundar in case Sundar is deemed unfit or is ineffective or if the team needs a left-arm spinner more than a right arm off spinner.

Tim Southee could play in place of Coulter-Nile when the latter leaves for WC preparation.

Young Navdeep Saini could be given a try in place of Umesh or Siraj if needed.