IPL 2020: 3 ideal opening combinations for RCB

The excitement around the upcoming thirteenth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has reached fever pitch. Speculations are rife as to which team combinations will be picked by the franchises in order to win the coveted trophy of the cash-rich league.

Year after year, the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have had a match-winning team on paper but have somehow failed to hold their nerves in the key moments. RCB's lack of a good opening pair has often proved to be its nemesis which has led skipper Virat Kohli to promote himself up the order and open the innings, a move which has disturbed the balance of the team a little.

However, this year the Bangalore franchise have made some smart buys in the IPL Auction and have a host of good opening options for the upcoming season. Let us take a look at three such possible opening combinations that RCB can employ this year

1. Aaron Finch and Parthiv Patel

The team management will go be looking forward to see how Aaron Finch performs for RCB

The first pair that comes to mind when we think of an opening combination for RCB this season is Parthiv Patel and Aaron Finch. Finch and Patel will form a destructive opening pair and will give RCB a solid start for the middle-order to capitalise on.

Patel was bought by RCB in the 2018 auction for 1.7 Crores INR and has been a mainstay in their line-up ever since. Patel scored 373 runs in the 2019 edition of the IPL and was the third-highest scorer for the team.

On the other hand, Aaron Finch was bought by RCB for a hefty sum of 4.4 Crores after an intense round of bidding. The Australian limited-overs skipper will look to make most of his opportunities at RCB and retain his position in the playing eleven.

2. Parthiv Patel and Devdutt Padikkal

We could see two left-handed batsmen open the batting for RCB in the coming season

The option of opening with Parthiv Patel and Devdutt Padikkal may prove to be a masterstroke by the team management as it will allow them to strengthen their lower middle-order or their bowling line-up with an additional foreign player.

Devdutt Padikkal is a young, emerging player from Karnataka who has a style of batting which is very pleasing to the eyes. The 20-year-old has performed consistently in the Vijay Hazare trophy, scoring 609 runs and finishing as the top run-getter in the tournament. The RCB team management will surely look to try out this upcoming talent in the top order this year.

Another factor that works in Padikkal's favour will be the late arrival of the Australian players for the tournament thanks to their bilateral series against England. Padikkal will be a good opening partner for Patel, as it will allow Patel to play his natural attacking game, as Padikkal is more than capable of holding up one end.

3. Josh Philippe and Aaron Finch

Finch and Philippe will provide an explosive start to the innings.

Josh Philippe is a talented wicket-keeper from Australia, who has the capability of striking the ball a long way. He provides the option of keeping the wickets for the team too and there may be an opening for him in the team if Parthiv Patel endures a difficult run early on in the tournament.

Philippe had an exceptional Big Bash League season last time around as he garnered 487 runs in 14 games, finishing as the tournament's third-highest scorer. Finch had a decent BBL season too as he scored 363 runs from 9 matches, including a scintillating century.

Philippe along with Finch will be dream opening combination for RCB as they could give the team an explosive start, and lay a solid foundation for Kohli and AB de Villiers to capitalise on.

The only downside of going ahead with this pair will be that RCB will be able to play only two more foreign players. With AB de Villiers' place in the side unquestionable, they will be able to play only one other foreign player, which may rekindle their death bowling woes from previous years.