Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) is one of the most exciting franchises in the Indian Premier League since the inception of the tournament. They played in the very first match of the IPL on April 18, 2008.
Over the years, their performances have bordered on both sides of the spectrum, given that they have the record for both the highest team total and lowest team total in the league - 263/5 and 49 respectively. They were the runners up of 2009, 2011 and 2016 editions, and have been captained by Virat Kohli since 2013 edition.
However, in the past three IPLs, they have been languishing at the bottom half of the points table. But they still possess a very good record in the tournament. Kohli has captained them in 96 matches so far, and they have seen players of repute like Chris Gayle, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, Shane Watson, Kevin Pietersen and others rendering their services to the team.
As we come to the end of the decade, Team COC presents to you the All-time IPL XI of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
Check out the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) - All-time IPL XI
Chris Gayle was a steal for the RCB franchise when he was picked as a replacement for the injured Dirk Nannes two weeks into the IPL 2011. Gayle had been released by the Kolkata Knight Riders after being injured and went unsold in the auction as well. The Gayle Era had begun for the franchise.
Since him making his debut for the franchise, he slammed 3163 runs with 5 centuries including the world and IPL record 175* against Pune Warriors India, leading the team to their highest total 263/5 in 20 overs, another IPL record. He definitely remains an all-time great RCB player without a doubt.
Parthiv Patel is one of those tenacious batsmen who keep going and going and do anything to gather runs. The Gujarat wicketkeeper-batsman has played for the RCB franchise two times and has gathered 731 runs in 32 matches at the top. He has opened the innings for them and provided an anchor to the more aggressive Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli to go berserk.
The player who personifies the spirit of RCB is Virat Kohli, who was picked in a youth draft in 2008 when he was a U19 player. Since then, Kohli has been always retained by the RCB management and he had rewarded them with amazing performances, including taking over the captaincy in 2013.
His best season came in 2016 when he smashed 973 runs in 16 matches at an average of 81.08, with four centuries. He is constantly their best players and has shared two double century partnerships in the league with his partner in crime AB de Villiers and is the leading run-getter in the league. Fans of the franchise are hoping that he might bring them the glory of becoming champions come this IPL 2020.
AB DE VILLIERS
M: 126| Runs: 3724| SR: 159.55| HS: 133*| 100s: 2| 50s: 30| 6s: 199
AB de Villiers was released by Delhi Daredevils before the auction in 2011 and RCB was quick to pounce on an opportunity of a lifetime buying him for USD 1.1 mn. De Villiers along with Virat Kohli and formerly Chris Gayle, formed a troika of dominant batsmanship for the franchise in the league for a long time.
His 360 degree hitting abilities and coming on top against the best of the bowlers like his countryman Dale Steyn has been the highlights of the league so far. His amazing fielding has not been affected by his age and the fact that he has been retired from international cricket now. He is expected to light the tournament on fire whenever he steps onto the field.
KL Rahul was part of the franchise from 2013-2016 and kept wickets for the team. He was also the finisher who came in at no.5 if anything was left after the likes of Kohli, De Villiers and Gayle were done. Though he made only 417 runs in his 19 matches, he did it with flair and used the opportunity to learn from the best in the business, which has helped him immensely.
Yuvraj Singh was the most expensive player bought by the franchise for a massive INR 14 crore in 2014 auction. He played all the games and made 376 runs at a strike rate of 135.25 with three half-centuries and hit 28 sixes. It was perhaps one of his better IPL seasons since returning in 2012 and despite this good performance, was released before the next season.
Mitchell Starc is remembered for his battle with Kieron Pollard in the IPL, the video of which is still watched on YouTube, years after it happened. He played 27 matches for the RCB and picked 34 wickets with a best of 4/15 and was more known for the intimidatory stuff he used to bog the batsmen down with.
Dale Steyn was a surprise pick for the RCB team in IPL 2019, where he played just 3 games but bowled extremely well. However, he was part of the franchise before as well and overall has a good record with 31 wickets in 30 games at a decent economy below 7 rpo. He might be on their radar once more as he has quit Test matches to keep himself fit for the shorter formats of the game and was seen at his best during the MSL this year.
R Vinay Kumar might be a surprise for many, but he has quite a few productive years at the Royal Challengers Bangalore franchise, playing 64 matches and picking 72 wickets. His wily bowling came in handy during the middle overs and at the start when he could get swing from the ball at the start. He had all the variations of slower ball or knuckleball and was also handy with the bat when needed.
Anil Kumble was the captain that took them into their very first IPL final in 2009 edition in South Africa. He was at the fag end of his career, having retired from international cricket in 2008, but still was part of the franchise for the first three years to give the league the star power it needed. He picked 45 wickets in 42 matches with the best bowling of 5/5, still one of the most economical bowling figures in league history.
YUZVENDRA CHAHAL
M: 83| WKTS: 100| ECO: 7.77| BB: 4/25| 4Ws: 2| 5Ws:0 Yuzvendra Chahal was the bowler who took over from where Kumble had left and was the leg-spinner that RCB needed. He flourished under Virat Kohli in a Chinnaswamy stadium which is known as batter’s paradise and for its short boundaries. He has 100 wickets in 83 matches with the best bowling of 4/25 and an economy of 7.77.
All-time XI Royal Challengers Bangalore: Chris Gayle, Parthiv Patel (WK), Virat Kohli (C), AB de Villiers, KL Rahul, Yuvraj Singh, Mitchell Starc, R Vinay Kumar, Dale Steyn, Anil Kumble, Yuzvendra Chahal