IPL: 5 players Royal Challengers Bangalore wish had stayed

Passionate fan-base - tick, marquee players -tick, big-money signings-tick, brilliant home stadium-tick. Number of Indian Premier League titles in ten years - Error 404, not found.

That is Royal Challengers Bangalore in a nutshell.

The Royal Challengers Bangalore have made it to the finals on four occasions, thrice in the IPL and once in the Champions League Twenty20. At the beginning of every season, you think they are the team to beat and they would finally cross the line and with each effort, they falter, only to rise from the dead, start from scratch the following year failing to put an end to this vicious cycle.

Different issues have come to haunt the Bangalore side every year. Once it was their fifth-bowler conundrum, another time their death-overs weakness, and another time injuries to key players. There has always been and will continue to be a glaring imbalance in the team or so it appears to be because of the stupendous batting line-up they have. If that was the case, they could not have possibly made it to the play-off stages on 5 occasions. What has really hurt them is crumbling at the later stages of the tournament giving them the chokers tag.

Several players that have left the Red and Gold brigade have gone on to player pivotal roles in helping their sides win the title. RCB surely regret letting go of several such players. Here are 5 such players who could have helped RCB win the elusive title had they stayed.

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#5 Steve Smith

Arguably the best chasers going around in world cricket

Steve Smith vs Virat Kohli is without a doubt cricket's version of the Messi vs Ronaldo debate. What if Messi and Ronaldo played on the same team? What if Steve Smith and Virat Kohli played on the same team?

Few would believe that this happened. In the 2010 IPL season, following an injury to Jesse Ryder, Steve Smith was brought in as a replacement. However, he failed to make it to the starting 11 as RCB finished third. During the 2011 IPL auction, he was bought by the now-defunct Kochi Tuskers Kerala side for $200,000. However, an ankle injury meant he did not play that season either. The next season, Kochi Tuskers were dropped from the IPL and Smith was put up for auction. Although he went unsold, he was brought in as a replacement for Mitchell Marsh and went onto win the Man-of-the-match Award in his debut game.

Following this, he moved to the Rajasthan Royals and the Rising Pune Supergiants where he served as captain. In the 69 games he has played, he has amassed a whopping 1701 runs at an average of 37.02 at a strike rate of 132. The Bangalore side has always known to be top heavy with Gayle and Kohli opening and de Villiers coming in at 3. Smith could have lent the much needed middle order solidarity and single-handedly won games on his own.

#4 Dinesh Karthik

Pipped to take Dhoni's spot, RCB would warmly re-welcome Karthik

Tamil Nadu and India wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Karthik has represented 6 sides in the Indian Premier League and is now set to captain his 7th side, Kolkata Knight Riders. Among the 6 sides he represented, it is fair to say he fared poorest at Royal Challengers Bangalore. Bought for an eye-opening price of 10.5 Crores, Karthik managed just 141 runs in 16 games at a strike-rate of 120.

Despite this, Dinesh Karthik has an impressive overall record of 2903 runs at a healthy strike-rate of 126. Specialist Indian wicket-keeper batsmen are a valuable commodity for any side. Royal Challengers Bangalore have had to make-do with part-time wicket-keeper batsman such as Robin Uthappa, AB de Villiers and KL Rahul which has cost them on plenty of occasions previously.

Furthermore, Kartik is beginning to show signs of the champion T-20 player he is with magnificent showings on the international level. Playing as a finisher, he would add teeth to the RCB middle-order allowing de Villiers to play his preferred number 3 role.

#3 Robin Uthappa

Robin Uthappa has come to haunt RCB on multiple occasions

The Bangalore based outfit finished 7th in their opening season. In the next 2 seasons, they managed to reach the finals and semi-finals. While Ross Taylor was the chief-architect of this turn-around, another batsman went about playing crucial match-winning cameos. This was none other than the 'Walking Assassin' Robin Uthappa. Among the several cameos he has played, the most vividly remembered cameo was the one against Kings XI Punjab where he smashed Brett Lee around the park for 25 runs in an over helping RCB chase down 50 runs in 4 overs.

Uthappa, in his 2-season stint with RCB, played the role of an opening batsman and that of a finisher. Along with Ross Taylor, Uthappa decimated bowling attacks with incredible ease. At the end of his two-year stint, along with Pandey, he moved to the Pune Warriors where he was the franchise's leading run-getter with 1103 runs. At number 2, was Yuvraj Singh at a distant 581. After their exit, Robin Uthappa moved to the Kolkata Knight Riders where he formed a formidable partnership with captain Gautam Gambhir. Winner of the Orange Cap in the 2014 season, Uthappa is the 5th highest Indian run-getter in the IPL.

Indian International batsmen present great value for money. Adding to his brute force, the Karnataka batsman's possesses great wicket-keeping skills. Keeping in mind the 'local flavor' he brings, there is no doubt that RCB dearly miss Robbie's services

#2 Manish Pandey

One

for

the big games, Manish Pandey

Arguably India's best fielder, Manish Pandey is also the first Indian to score a century in the India Premier League. Pandey, along with his former Karnataka teammate Robin Uthappa, who played for the Mumbai Indians side in the inaugural edition of the IPL moved to the then Vijay Mallya-owned side for the 2009 and 2010 seasons.

Pandey announced himself on the big stage with a rapid 114 against the Deccan Chargers taking the Anil Kumble-led side to the semi-finals. In the 2 seasons he opened for RCB, he scored 417 runs in 18 games averaging 38 at a strike-rate of 120.

It should come as no surprise that the Indian middle-order batsman was the most expensive Indian Batsman at the auction where he fetched Rs. 11 crores. His whirlwind 94 in the finals of the 2014 season was a clear illustration of the big game player he is. Firing when the team needs him to, the Uttarakhand-born youngster could have made a difference in the pressure games RCB falter. Not to forget that he is capable of playing anywhere in the batting line-up, Manish Pandey's versatility and energy in the field could have come handy had he stayed with his home team.

#1 Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Royal Challengers would be willing to pay a bombshell to reacquire the services of Kumar

Bhuvneshwar Kumar was all of 18 when he was first signed by the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Coming in as a replacement for the injured Jesse Ryder, the Meerut-born pacer spent most of his warming the benches. He made his debut for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the now-defunct Champions League Twenty20 tournament in 2009-10 conceding 31 runs in 4 overs.

Now 27, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has picked up 111 wickets in just 90 games at an economy of just 7.08 runs per over. The right-arm medium-fast bowler who swings the ball both ways made his IPL debut in 2011 for the Pune Warriors where he bowled economically finishing as the third highest wicket-taker for the team. The handy lower-order batsman also conceded just 23 runs in his quota of 4 overs in the record 263 runs Bangalore side made against them.

In 2014, he was snapped up by the Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs. 4.25 crores. In the 4 seasons that he has played for the Sunrisers, he has picked up 87 wickets winning the Purple Cap twice and leading them to the title once.

Royal Challengers have paid the price for having a weak bowling unit. In Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who picks up wickets when opening the bowling and is economical in the death overs, Royal Challengers Bangalore missed out on a gem of a bowler.