When the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) team takes to the field for the eighth season of the IPL, once again they will have to bank on the three specialists of their team. Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers are the knights in shining armour.
Not only are three cricketers of an international stature, but can carry their teams single-handedly as well. As the past has shown us this team has the potential to win the league, but inevitably lost the plot in the hour of reckoning. Could these three cricketers re-script RCB’s run in the IPL?
It was only in the 2009 season that they got close to winning under the leadership of then-skipper, Anil Kumble. In the final match of the IPL, which was played in South Africa, RCB were edged out of the contest during a nail-biting finish.
Thereafter, RCB won many matches which went down to the wire, but they couldn’t lay their claim on the coveted IPL trophy to emulate teams like the Chennai Super Kings and the Kolkata Riders who have the distinction of winning the league twice through the last seven seasons.
The Rajasthan Royals, now a defunct team, Deccan Chargers and Mumbai Indians are the other teams who have won the trophy on previous occasions. A lot will be at stake when Kohli leads RCB this time. Firstly, he is now the captain of the Indian test team and also MS Dhoni’s deputy in the ODI team. He carries the weight of these positions in the IPL franchise.
The entire generation of IPL followers are going to keep an eye on how Kohli leads the team. The last time this line-up also had Yuvraj Singh, but the team couldn’t make an impression. That is because hard-hitters were reserved for the slog overs.
They were depending too much on Gayle, and the likes of Yuvraj and de Villiers were made to bat later in the innings. That cost them dearly. Kohli will be looking to rectify mistakes of the previous season and will likely use the best players of the team right at the top of the order.
