IPL 2020: SWOT Analysis of Royal Challengers Bangalore

RCB in IPL 2020: Weaknesses

Umesh Yadav is expected to be the leader of the RCB pace attack in IPL 2020

#1 RCB's well-chronicled death bowling woes are set to continue

An issue that RCB just don't seem to address successfully in the auction is their death bowling. They attempted to shore up their fast bowling arsenal by buying Chris Morris and although he looks like a good option on paper, the numbers tell a different story.

Morris' economy rates in the past two IPL seasons have been 9.27 and 10.21 respectively, with a total of 16 wickets to show for. The South African hits the deck hard and has shown that he possesses a decent yorker, but he isn't consistent enough to assure RCB that they can depend on him at the death.

The issues that Mohammed Siraj and Umesh Yadav have faced towards the ends of innings is known to all, and RCB's only hope at the death this season appears to be Navdeep Saini, who picked up 11 wickets last season at an economy rate of 8.27.

This is not to say that Umesh and Siraj cannot have improved, but they have been out of action for months on end and they've perhaps not had enough time to work on their variations. Only time will tell, but it does seem like RCB will struggle at the death once again.

#2 RCB don't have solid Indian batsmen in the middle order

Another problem that has plagued RCB is that they have been majorly top-heavy, and their IPL 2020 squad is no different. Following AB de Villiers - who is expected to bat at No. 4 - is Moeen Ali, after which there simply aren't tried-and-tested IPL batsmen.

Finch, De Villiers and Moeen have ensured that the batsmen who make up the rest of the middle order have to be Indian, and the best option at RCB's disposal is Gurkeerat Singh, who has played only 12 games in the past 4 IPL seasons. However, the Punjab batsman seems to be in good nick in training, and he along with Washington Sundar and Shivam Dube will have to step up.

Speaking of them......

#3 RCB don't have world-class all-rounders apart from Moeen Ali

No disrespect to Sundar and Dube, who are both young and extremely talented, but they aren't world-class yet.

The former made his India debut over three years ago, and has played 1 ODI and 23 T20Is, but has taken only 8 wickets and scored 66 runs for RCB over the past two seasons. Dube, on the other hand, 40 runs and zero wickets in 4 IPL games and has shown a certain one-dimensionality in both departments.

Chris Morris isn't a genuine all-rounder although he can contribute with the bat on his day, and Pawan Negi has scored 12 runs and taken 4 wickets over the past two IPL seasons.

Barring Moeen Ali, who is expected to play in the top order anyway, RCB don't have world-class all-rounders who lend balance to the lower middle order. This would not only hamper them on the field but it might also ensure that they never find the right team combination, which almost solely depends on all-rounders.

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