IPL 2019 Squad Analysis: Royal Challengers Bangalore

The team with the intensely loyal fans, RCB has probably been the most unlucky franchise of the IPL, making it to the finals thrice and never being able to savour the joy of lifting the trophy.

Though they have had enormous names of the likes of Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Yuvraj Singh, Chris Gayle, Shane Watson, Dale Steyn, and Zaheer Khan play for them, they have hardly managed to do consistently well in the 11 years of IPL apart from the three years they reached the finals, only to face the disappointing face of loss.

RCB had quite a forgettable 2018 season of the IPL and now they would want to get the right balance of players in order to make a strong combination of the playing XI. Over the years, RCB has suffered with having a superbly strong batting lineup but a dismal bowling line-up.

Chris Gayle

Given their recent retention, releases and trades, and the much talked about IPL Auction, let us look at what else might the RCB be looking forward to doing towards the 2019 IPL.

The 2018 RCB squad did seem balanced, but again fell prey to poor selection of the playing XI

The Releases

The top-order heavy and that too, foreign top-order heavy RCB of 2018 seems to have realized where they had gone wrong last year, and have rightly released Brendon McCullum and Manan Vohra prior to the IPL Auction.

While McCullum's abilities are under question, Manan Vohra is one exciting youngster who was missing out on opportunities to showcase his talent. He was impressive at KXIP, but due to the presence of big names at the top of RCB's batting order, the young lad couldn't perform to his optimum.

Brendon McCullum and Manan Vohra

Quinton de Kock, who was being termed as a good buy for RCB in 2018 and who did pretty well for them, was also traded to the MI this year.

RCB also seem to have gone for a replacement of two under-performing overseas all-rounders by picking the in-form Marcus Stoinis and letting go of Chris Woakes and Corey Anderson. While the former is more of a batting all-rounder, Woakes was more of a bowler who could finish off matches with a few big hits and Anderson was a full-time finisher who could bowl a few overs in between.

However, none of the two did justice to his role and thus, they have gone for someone who might be able to clear the boundaries often and also bowl crucial overs of seam in between.

RCB are looking at Marcus Stoinis as their second genuine all-rounder along with Moeen Ali to be a part of their core playing XI

Stoinis was instrumental in KXIP's non-stop run in the first six matches, but then, the quality his services declined in direct relation with the team's win percentage. Nevertheless, the Aussie all-rounder is yet again proving in this ongoing edition of the Big Bash League, that he is a force to reckon with.

He has been phenomenal while opening the innings for the Melbourne Stars and has also been very handy as a death bowler, bowling slower balls and cutters to make the batsmen mistime the attempted big shots and get caught in the deep, given the large sizes of Australian grounds.

The talk of the town, the man who wreaked havoc in the bilateral series against India has caught the attention of one and all with his fabulous hitting and innings building abilities, Shimron Hetmyer, is their latest addition.

The West Indian batting setup may have lacked anything in the world but firepower, having the likes of Chris Gayle, Pollard, Russell and more at their disposal, but what they did lack was sheer firepower backed with consistency.

All eyes would be on Hetmyer this year since he has been this auction's hot pick

Hetmyer has come in and filled the role of that much needed attacking innings builder. The way he scored fearlessly against India in two ODI games was proof of the fact that he can go on to be a modern day great. Hetmyer started to prove his worth in the Carribean Premier League, from where he got an entry into West Indies' national side. He will be a valuable asset for RCB in the middle order.

The Shocker

Sarfaraz Khan

What RCB did with the young Sarfaraz Khan over the last 12 months or so lacks reason. At first, it seemed like they did want to keep him and groom him, given his potential and talent showcased in the 2014 and 2016 under-19 World Cups and also the previous editions of the IPL, but then their own skipper Virat Kohli came out in the open to downplay the former's value to the side.

What followed was utterly shocking. They let go of KL Rahul, the talented youngster who performed brilliantly with the bat in 2016, mostly supporting the then invincible looking Virat Kohli. Also, at that time, Rahul was on to represent India in all three formats. They also released the Universal Boss Chris Gayle, someone who had been so valuable to the side and had been the backbone of their success post-2011.

KL Rahul and Gayle, both went on to represent the newly formed core team of KXIP and did exceedingly well while opening the innings together. RCB must be regretting their decisions till date.

RCB's 2018 rejects, KL Rahul and Chris Gayle ensured rock solid starts for the KXIP in the 2018 IPL

RCB also released Mandeep Singh, a good talent who again, was underperforming at RCB. It will be interesting to see how he fares at KXIP, a team that will give him ample opportunity, responsibility, and freedom.

New purchases

Gurkeerat Mann, Heinrich Klaasen and Shivam Dube

RCB has purchased Gurkeerat Mann Singh for his base price of 50 lacs INR, which seems to be a good deal, given his hitting abilities and also the spin bowling option he brings in.

Shivam Dube, the man who fetched 25 times his base price in the auction would be someone every team would have a close eye on.

Heinrich Klaasen is yet to prove his worth on Indian pitches. He gave a glimpse of his fabulous spin hammering abilities while India was touring South Africa when he battered RCB teammate Yuzvendra Chahal black and blue. However, he failed miserably with the bat last year with Rajasthan Royals.

The probable Playing XI

Looking at the way they have performed this Auction, let us have a look at who all might be part of their starting playing XI.

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#1 Parthiv Patel

Patel has been around the National side for more than a decade now

Parthiv has done fairly well for whichever side he has represented in these 11 years of the IPL. Be it opening with Matthew Hayden for CSK, or with McCullum for Kochi, with Dhawan for SRH, with Gayle for RCB or with Rohit Sharma/Lendl Simmons for MI, he has always given good starts to his side.

He is not a heavy run-getter, but he performs his role better than most other, as he consistently scores those 30-35 runs off 22-28 balls to secure good starts for his team.

#2 Virat Kohli (C)

Virat would look to replicate his 2016 IPL form and lead from the front

The big man, the best in the world, the invincible Virat Kohli has made it clear this year that he wants to open, and rightly so, as he played his best cricket in 2016 while opening the innings, first with KL Rahul and then with Chris Gayle. With RCB getting rid of all pre-existing openers Vohra, de Kock, and Baz, it is evident that Kohli is eyeing the top spot.

Parthiv's ability to hold on to one end will provide the Indian captain with the license to attack. Kohli, if batted through the innings, is certain to go past the three-digit mark, and if he does well this year at the top, RCB is certain to reach the top-4, if not the top-2.

#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.