RCB have been tagged as the ultimate under-performers of IPL.
Despite having the most celebrated batsmen and almost a limitless reservoir of funds, they have always faltered during the big moments.
It’s indeed shocking that they have never won the IPL trophy even once in 13 years.
However, if the law of averages is anything to go by, IPL 2021 could well be their year.
To start with, they have the most fearsome list of batters who can shred any attack to pieces.
Last year, they had names like Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, and Joshua Philippe in their roster.
This year, they have added one more explosive player to the mix, namely Glenn Maxwell.
Though he didn’t have a great IPL 2020, Maxwell is easily, one of the most murderous batsmen in world cricket.
If he gets going, RCB will be absolutely unstoppable.
There are others who are no rabbits with the bat – Daniel Sams, Harshal Patel and Washington Sundar, a trio of all-rounders who are capable of wielding the long handle.
Another exciting signing is wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Azharuddeen, who had a mind-boggling strike-rate of 194.54 in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy
RCB has also brought back Daniel Christian and Sachin Baby into the squad and it’s fair to say that this line-up has the potential to breach the 250 mark in T20 cricket.
Traditionally, the problem has been the over-reliance on Kohli and AB de Villiers. RCB has chosen to address this adequately by going for a squad that could bat all the way down to No. 8 or No. 9.
Apart from batting, RCB has opted to strengthen its pace attack.
They broke the bank to land New Zealand pacer Kyle Jamieson, the tallest fast bowler in world cricket at 6 ft, 8 inches.
Jamieson has had a stunning start to his Test career with 36 wickets in just 6 Tests and is almost impossible to score off, as he sends the ball down from an awkward height, a la Joel Garner.
On the slow wickets of Chennai and Ahmedabad, even their spin bowlers could wreak havoc. Yuzvendra Chahal, Adam Zampa and Sundar form a potent combination who can not just contain but also grab wickets.
The only question mark could be the relative inexperience of their fast bowlers, Navdeep Saini and Mohammed Siraj while bowling with the white ball.
Full Squad
Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers, Devdutt Padikkal, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Siraj, Kane Richardson, Washington Sundar, Pavan Deshpande, Finn Allen, Shahbaz Ahamad, Navdeep Saini, Adam Zampa, Kyle Jamieson, Glenn Maxwell, Rajat Patidar, Sachin Baby, Mohammed Azharuddeen, Daniel Christian, KS Bharat, Suyash Prabhudessai, Daniel Sams, Harshal Patel.
