After Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) women’s team ended their trophy drought in the Women’s Super League, the Faf du Plessis-led men’s team will aim to replicate the feat in the upcoming tournament won the long-awaited IPL championship in the 17th edition of the Indian League. The English Premier League (IPL), will begin on Friday, March 22. After finishing a disappointing sixth place in the IPL 2023 points table, RCB will be looking to put themselves in a better light in the new season and start the new season with a clash against defending champions and five-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) ) during the IPL 2024 opener at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

Although RCB finished runners-up three times in 2009, 2011 and 2016, they are still desperate to win their first IPL title.

Despite failing to win the coveted trophy, the Bengaluru-based team enjoyed the support of their loyal fans, who are known to turn out in huge numbers, especially at their home ground, the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Former India captain Virat Kohli has donned the red and blue jersey every year since the inception of the IPL. He was part of the organization alongside legends such as Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers.

Kohli lived up to his nickname of ‘Run Machine’ as he is the highest run-scorer in IPL history with 7263 runs in 237 games. Kohli also captained the team from 2013 to 2021. Kohli has led the team in 4 of the 8 IPL playoffs.

After Kohli, Faf du Plessis has been appointed as RCB captain and he will also lead the team next season. Ahead of the start of the new season, RCB has assembled a strong squad for the grand tournament, which includes six new players from the IPL mini-auction in December 2023.

New additions to the RCB squad include West Indies pacer Alzarri Joseph, RCB’s most expensive player at INR 11.5 crore. Other players include Yash Dayal (INR 5 Crore), Lockie Ferguson (INR 2 Crore), Tom Curran (INR 15 Crore), Swapnil Singh (INR 20 Lakh) and Saurav Chauhan (INR 20 Lakh).

Let’s dissect their squad through SWOT analysis to understand the chances of RCB ending their chase for the elusive IPL trophy in 2024.

Advantage

Like the previous edition, RCB has a star-studded batting line-up including Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, Rajat Patidar and Dinesh Karthik among others.

Kohli and Du Plessis have been one of the most consistent opening combinations in recent times. In 2023, the two crossed the 100-run mark several times and became their first wicket partnership, with 172 being their highest score of the season.

Australian stars Glenn Maxwell and Cameron Green further strengthen the middle order. The latter was traded in a cash deal with Mumbai Indians for a whopping INR 17.5 crore. It will also be exciting to see how RCB forms the top five in the lower-middle batting order with Rajat Patidar and Dinesh Karthik.

weakness

RCB’s bowling attack can be considered as one of its major weaknesses. They have released some key players from the team and their bowling department is missing match-winners which has put their team on a slippery slope.

Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj had a brilliant season for RCB in the 2023 season, taking 19 wickets. However, he has lacked consistency at times while their other pacers like Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Tom Curran and Lockie Ferguson are yet to prove their mettle with consistency in the IPL.

Coming to the spin bowling department, Wanindu Hasaranga was released by RCB after IPL 2023, leaving Karn Sharma as the team’s only specialist spin option.

Therefore, the Bengaluru-based outfit will rely heavily on the likes of Glenn Maxwell, Will Jacks and Mahipal Lomro on a part-time basis. However, things will be tricky for the RCB skipper due to the rule of not having more than four overseas players in the lineup.

Chance

The new bouncer rule allows bowlers to bowl a maximum of two bouncers per over, which opens up opportunities for RCB’s taller bowlers like Joseph and Reece Topley and to some extent Siraj. They can maximize their chances of picking up wickets by reaching optimal intensity using the new short ball rules.

The new season offers plenty of opportunities for the likes of Patidhar, Will Jacks and Suyash Prabhudesai, especially in the midfield. They hope to leave their mark on the team by consistently contributing to Bengaluru.

threaten

RCB’s dependence on the top order from previous seasons has continued like a generational pain. In the early seasons, the team relied heavily on Chris Gayle to provide a strong start, with further support from AB de Villiers and Kohli. As witnessed in IPL 2023, the mantle has been passed on to Du Plessis and Kohli.

Furthermore, Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik had a forgettable performance in IPL 2023, scoring 140 runs in 13 games at a strike rate of 134.61. He hit just five sixes in the last edition.

Additionally, some foreign players such as Will Jacks, Cameron Green, Reece Topley and Lockie Ferguson may miss part of the league due to national duties as most cricket boards focus on the games scheduled for At the 2024 T20 World Cup in June.

possible twelve

Faf du Plessis (captain), Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Cameron Green, Glenn Maxwell, Dinesh Karthik (wicketkeeper), Anuj Rawat, Alzarri Joseph, Mohammed Siraj, Karn Sharma/Mayank Dagar, Akash Deep/Yash Dayal, Suyash Prabhudessai (attack )son)