IPL 2019: The perfect playing XI for RCB

Royal Challengers Bangalore seemed to have addressed most of their problems in the auctions this year with the purchase of a couple of big players like Shimron Hetmyer, Heinrich Klaasen, and Shivam Dube. They looked like a team that meant business and many fans strongly believed that this could be RCB’s year.

That was until the inaugural match took place. RCB were bowled out for just 70 runs against Chennai Super Kings and in the following match against Mumbai Indians, they lost by just 6 runs. After another couple of disappointing losses, RCB are currently sitting at the bottom of the points table and will soon be out of contention for the playoffs if they don't turn their fortunes around.

So, what went wrong for Virat Kohli’s team?

One of the reasons for their poor performances this season has to be the team selection. Players who haven’t performed well like Hetmyer have still found a place in the playing XI. Lack of team balance and too many underperforming foreign all-rounders just adds to RCB’s problems. RCB have paid big money to retain players like Washington Sundar and Pawan Negi, yet Sundar hasn't found a place in the playing XI while Negi has played just two matches.

The good news for RCB is that they may not have to wait for next year to turn things around. They have all the talent needed to excel this season and require just a few tweaks.

With the perfect playing XI, RCB can start winning their matches. But what is the perfect playing XI for RCB? We have tried to answer that question in this post by picking RCB’s best possible playing XI.

Please let us know your perfect playing XI for RCB in the comments section below.

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Openers (Parthiv Patel (wk), Marcus Stoinis)

Parthiv Patel and Marcus Stoinis

One of the biggest talking points for Royal Challengers Bangalore this season has been its opening combination. In six matches so far, Parthiv Patel has had three different openers and therefore, RCB’s highest opening partnership is just 64 runs.

It goes without saying that getting off to a good start can really help take the load off the middle order. Hence, Royal Challengers Bangalore really need to nail their opening combination perfectly. So, who should open with Parthiv Patel? RCB could stick with Parthiv and Virat or they could try one more opening combination – Parthiv Patel and Marcus Stoinis.

It would be better for RCB if Stoinis opens the batting with Parthiv Patel.

Marcus Stoinis has opened the batting for Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League and finished the tournament as the third highest run scorer with 533 runs.

Looking at Stoinis’ performance in the previous few games, he looks to be in some good form. Therefore, Virat & co. need to capitalize on this by having him open the innings. This could add more stability to RCB’s top order and also take some pressure off AB de Villiers allowing him to play a bit more freely.

On the hand, Parthiv Patel has been RCB’s standout batsman this year and all he needs is another partner at the other end who could help alleviate RCB’s top order woes.

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Number 3 (Virat Kohli)

Virat Kohli

The number three spot is a no brainer really. It has to be Virat Kohli. As much as I like to see Virat open the innings, having him bat at number three just adds a bit more balance to the innings. He has really struggled this season with only one fifty to his name. Hence, it wouldn’t be a bad idea if he bats at the position he is most comfortable at.

Virat is such a big wicket and if he gets out early after opening the innings, it just puts a lot of unnecessary pressure on the middle order. I appreciate Kohli for wanting to take ownership and more responsibility as captain by opening the innings, but it may not be in his team’s best interest given his current form.

Moreover, batting at number three could help him pace his innings better. Therefore, it’s really a no brainer that Kohli should come in to bat at number three for RCB.

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Middle order (AB de Villiers, Akshdeep Nath, Washington Sundar, Shivam Dube/Pawan Negi)

AB de Villiers

Of course, AB de Villiers should come in to bat at number four. However, the major changes should take place after de Villiers. RCB have tried to play Shimron Hetmyer at number five, but that hasn’t worked out well for them. Hetmyer has a lot of potential, but he has constantly struggled to score runs and has failed to justify his place in the playing XI.

Instead of using Heinrich Klaasen to replace him at number five, RCB could instead use one of their Indian batsmen. Looking at other successful franchises, they all seem to have one thing in common – a strong Indian middle order. In fact, CSK only used three overseas players in their first couple of matches.

Just like they (RCB) trust their Indian bowlers (Umesh Yadav and Navdeep Saini) to bowl, RCB could try showing a little more faith in their Indian batsmen. That being said, they could try using someone like Akshdeep Nath at number five. Akshdeep has a terrific domestic record in first-class cricket. He can bat quite well if given the responsibility.

At number six, RCB could try using Washington Sundar. He emerged as a crucial player for RCB last year. They retained him this year, but are yet to use him. Washington Sundar has a lot of potential. He is someone who can bat quite well and hit the ball hard which would make him a crucial batsman for RCB in the death overs. Moreover, he can bowl quite well in the powerplay as well which gives Kohli another bowling option.

At number 7, RCB could try to use either Shivam Dube or Pawan Negi. Dube is a hard-hitting batsman who can strike the ball long and hard. He has a terrific first class record and has even hit five sixes in an over on two occasions this past Ranji season.

In 9 matches that he has played for Mumbai, he has scored 710 runs at an average of 50.71. Dube can also be quite useful with the ball and holds a pretty good bowling record as well. He has scalped 28 wickets in his first class career at an average of 22.57.

Pawan Negi, on the other hand, is no different. He can also be a destructive batsman and can also bowl a few useful overs. Both Negi and Dube have similar styles and either of them could help bolster RCB’s lower order batting and bowling.

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Bowlers (Yuzvendra Chahal, Siraj, Tim Southee, Nathan Coulter-Nile)

Tim Southee

RCB’s bowling has been their weakest point over the past few seasons. But this year, their bowling has somehow gotten worse. Royal Challengers Bangalore have shown a lot of faith in their Indian bowlers, but this has worked against them.

Even their experienced pacer Umesh Yadav has been in poor form. Yuzvendra Chahal has been their only standout bowler by a fair margin, but he has had below par bowling partners. Therefore, it would make much more sense for RCB to fill their remaining two overseas slots with bowlers.

They have two experienced death bowlers: Nathan Coulter-Nile and Tim Southee. Both of them have been in good form for their respective national sides this past year. Southee has picked up 8 wickets in 4 ODIs this year including a stellar 6 wicket haul against Bangladesh.

Coulter-Nile, on the other hand, was one of the star performers during Australia's clash against Pakistan. He picked 7 wickets in just 3 ODI matches. He was also consistent during Australia's tour of India picking up 10 wickets from 5 games

Though Southee has been expensive in his two games so far, it shouldn't take anything away from what he can bring to the table. Remember, those two matches were played at Bangalore where the ground is known to be a batsman's paradise. RCB should still rely on Southee to deliver standout performances during the crunch situations.

They could form a deadly duo and could stop the flow of runs in the death overs. They can also help scalp a couple of useful wickets at the start of the innings.

Unlike Southee, Coulter-Nile may not be available for the entire season. So, RCB should make the best use of him while they still can.

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