RCB skipper Virat Kohli will be eyeing their first IPL title in the UAE.
The IPL season 13 has been long-awaited since its postponement due to the COVID-19 lockdown across the globe. The biggest T20 league in the world is set to take the center stage for the next 53 days from 19 September. It will see the league’s two most successful teams battle it out to begin the tournament and take it to the other venues – Sharjah and Dubai, from Abu Dhabi.
The Royal Challengers Bangalore reached the finals of the IPL the very first time the tournament went outside India in 2009. They have reached the finals, in 2011 and 2016 also. They were knocked out in the playoffs in 2010 and 2015 and finished third both times.
IPL 2020: IPL journey of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Numbers
In IPL 2020, Virat Kohli will lead the team out once again in search of their first-ever title win in the tournament. For the upcoming season, RCB is a well-balanced side and unlike the past few years, they have a strong bowling line-up.
The pace attack is led by Dale Steyn, leggies Yuzvendra Chahal and Adam Zampa well supported by all-rounders like Isuru Udana, Chris Morris, Moeen Ali, and Washington Sundar to name a few gives them plenty of opportunities to get their playing XI right.
Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, and Mohammed Siraj are the Indian pacers in the RCB squad.
The batting side will obviously be taken care of the leaders Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers followed by Australian skipper Aaron Finch, Indian youngsters Devdutt Padikkal, Shivam Dube, and wicket-keeper Parthiv Patel. Young Australian Josh Phillippe is also a part of the RCB contingent.
Team COC brings to you the top 5 players who can help RCB win IPL 13
VIRAT KOHLI
The Indian skipper Virat Kohli will come out all guns blazing after a five-month-long break from any kind of competitive cricket. He was seen improving his fitness in the lockdown and did not look out of sorts in the nets just before IPL 2020. One would expect Kohli to lead by example and fire up his team to go hard and hold the trophy for the first time in RCB colors.
The highest run-getter in the IPL has a knack of rotating the strike while building an innings and going big in the death overs. In UAE, this strategy would be ideal irrespective of whether the team is batting first or second. Slow pitches do not allow the batsmen to settle in quickly and Kohli can make use of his superior stamina and running between the wickets to milk the bowlers early in his innings.
IPL 2020: Virat Kohli shares new photos from RCB training; looks fully focused for IPL 13
The 31-year-old has been scoring over 400 runs each season for the past five years except 2017. In 2016, he had the best IPL season for any batsman as he scored a record 973 runs in 16 games. He averaged 81.08 and scored runs at a strike rate of 152.03. He registered a record 4 centuries and 7 half-centuries in the year.
The RCB skipper would be looking forward to replicating his feat and be a force to reckon with in IPL 2020. He will also have the crucial job of handling his bowlers well, who will be battling the heat, pitches, and the batsmen.
AB DE VILLIERS
The South African legend AB de Villiers will have to lead with aggression as his skipper Virat Kohli holds the other end up for his side. The ‘Superman’ as the fans call him as been a wonderful ambassador for RCB over the years.
Fans would be expecting highly of him yet again and the 36-year-old won’t be looking to disappoint them. A well-rested AB de Villiers is hungry for runs in the UAE and the pitches in the country will provide him with plenty of opportunities to score them. With the IPL teams pitching in with spinners, AB will be a big threat as he prefers to play spin.
IPL 2020: RCB's AB de Villiers prepares for wicketkeeping role in the upcoming IPL 13
He has scored over 2300 runs in the last 5 years. In 2019, he scored 442 runs at a strike rate of 154.00 and hit 5 half-centuries in 13 innings. In the previous season, he scored, even more, runs at an even better strike rate. De Villiers scored 480 runs in IPL 2018 at a whopping strike rate of 174.54. He went past the 50-run mark 6 times in only 11 innings.
De Villiers, one of the best batsmen in the world at the moment will be playing alongside arguably the best, Virat Kohli, and aiming to take RCB towards the title win on 10 November.
YUZVENDRA CHAHAL
Spinners will be in action in the UAE and you just cannot keep Yuzvendra Chahal will be licking his lips seeing surfaces when the ball is turning. The youngster from Haryana made his IPL debut in 2013 for the Mumbai Indians and then switched to the Royal Challengers the following year.
As of now, Chahal is standing tall among the IPL wicket-takers as he reached the three-figure mark in IPL 2019. His career has progressed wonderfully in the last 4 years since making his debut for the Indian team.
The leggie has done an exceptional job for RCB on small home ground in Bengaluru. He backs his abilities and flights the ball even where the boundaries are not longer than 80 meters in any side of the ground.
IPL 2020: "We have sorted out our bowling in the death overs", says Yuzvendra Chahal
In 83 innings in the IPL so far, he has taken 100 wickets at an average of 23.18 and an economy of 7.78. In the last two seasons alone, the 30-year-old has picked 30 wickets at an average of 24.97 and a strike rate of 19.87.
DALE STEYN
Dale Steyn has had a long break before this IPL and he will be fresh before a season where he will be needed in all the games. If he performs well and takes RCB into the playoffs, Steyn would have done a very good job.
Fitness will be a concern for him despite the long break as he prone to injuries and his age won’t do him any good. The UAE heat is also a major factor and RCB will have to ensure that the 37-year-old pacer sees through the entire IPL without any injuries.
IPL 2020: "Dale Steyn and AB de Villiers still have plenty to offer," says RCB director Mike Hesson
The South African has tonnes of experience at the highest level and can adjust to the line and lengths better than anybody else. His first couple overs with the new ball will be extremely crucial as the pitches will get slower and slower as the tournament progresses.
Steyn will then have to resort to his variations in the death overs. He has picked 96 wickets in 92 games so far and has maintained an excellent economy of 6.77. RCB will look at Dale Steyn to lead the pace attack in IPL 13.
WASHINGTON SUNDAR
The Tamil Nadu all-rounder, Washington Sundar has been underutilized by RCB in the IPL so far. He gets to bowl his quota of 4 overs early on but bats too deep in the batting order. He is more of a player who likes to settle down before playing his shots and he cannot do that if he gets less than 10 balls in an innings.
IPL 2020: Washington Sundar expects assistance for spinners from UAE pitches
Sundar will be crucial with his spin bowling with the UAE pitches supporting him. He will set the batsmen up and keep them under pressure before Chahal comes in and forces the batsmen to takes risks against him.
The off-break bowler played only 10 games in the last two seasons and managed to pick only 8 wickets. He hasn’t batted much in the IPL, but in his 13 innings, he has scored at a strike rate of 141.51 and has the highest score of 35.
He can provide the quick runs and can be a quick runner between the wickets with younger legs supporting him. The 20-year-old all-rounder will certainly a player RCB would like to groom and utilize effectively in IPL 13.