IPL 2020: SWOT Analysis of Royal Challengers Bangalore

RCB in IPL 2020: Threats

Shivam Dube will have to improve upon his recent performances in IPL 2020

#1 RCB's new signings either have poor IPL records or are entirely untested at the IPL level

Although the signings of Aaron Finch, Chris Morris and Dale Steyn look like solid decisions, all three have poor recent IPL records.

As mentioned earlier, Morris has been expensive and hasn't picked up enough wickets to justify the amount of runs he has conceded. The Proteas pacer hasn't offered much with the bat as well.

It wouldn't be an overstatement to claim that Finch has been at a new franchise every IPL season, and his last spell at the Kings XI Punjab was nothing short of a disaster. In the 2018 IPL, the Kangaroos skipper managed only 134 runs in 10 games, and in the year before that, he averaged less than 25.

Steyn is a shadow of the express pacer he was once was, and has played only 9 games across his last 3 IPL seasons - 7 wickets at an economy rate of over 8.5 in all 3.

The other new signings - Shahbaz Ahmad, Pavan Deshpande, Josh Philippe and Isuru Udana - are entirely untested at the IPL level.

However, while the stats don't make for good reading, all of these players are certainly match-winners.

#2 RCB are at the risk of crossing the point of no return

This might seem like a generic statement, but it is important to realise just how much of a toll RCB's failures in the IPL might have taken on them. The team members head into each IPL with high expectations and hopes, but have failed miserably.

For example, if the first few games don't go in RCB's favour, they might find it very difficult to motivate themselves to bring themselves back from the brink. We have seen how the pain of the 2015 World Cup semi-final defeat all but ended AB de Villiers' international career, despite South Africa staring at the next edition of the tournament in the near distance.

A similar pattern might make an appearance at RCB. Virat Kohli has been under immense criticism, and his captaincy will have to be at its best in IPL 2020. Speaking of Virat Kohli's leadership......

#3 Virat Kohli's chopping and changing can single-handedly ruin RCB's IPL 2020

As mentioned earlier, RCB's team composition, especially with regards to the lower middle order, is far from certain. And if recent patterns are anything to go by, Virat Kohli will ring in a number of changes in an attempt to find the ideal combination, at the expense of a consistent run of games for the players who he initially backs.

This is a major threat that hovers over RCB's IPL 2020 campaign, and the Indian captain will need to firmly stand behind his players, even if they go through a rough patch in the beginning owing to lack of match practice and fitness.

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