It’s a new era for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) as they head into the 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL) season with Virat Kohli not at the helm. The Indian star drew the curtain on a 10-year captaincy at RCB after the end of last season.
The biggest talking point leading up to IPL 2022 was the RCB captain and the franchise finally unveiled Faf du Plessis as Virat Kohli’s successor. The former South African captain brings a wealth of leadership and IPL success to the table, having spent nearly a decade with the Chennai Super Kings.
NEW CAPTAIN, NEW ERA
Faf du Plessis is a respected figure in international cricket and is hoping to reverse the fortunes of RCB, which has consistently underperformed in the IPL over the years. The former South African captain has already stressed that it will be a collaborative approach and that the Energy from Virat Kohli will be crucial to their progress.
RCB has a solid core group of players with the leadership experience that will stand them in good stead. The likes of Glenn Maxwell and newcomers Dinesh Karthik and Kohli are expected to work closely with du Plessis.
BIG MISTAKES, INTELLIGENT ADDITIONS
RCB came into the roster and unleashed one of their biggest match winners, Yuzvendra Chahal. The leg spinner, who was not retained, has joined the Rajasthan Royals for the new season.
However, they have signed Wanindu Hasaranga from Sri Lanka for a whopping sum of Rs 10.25 crore, meaning the leg spinner will be a crucial part of the XI.
The departure of Washington Sundar is also a heavy blow for RCB. They have players like Glenn Maxwell, Karn Sharma and Shahbaz Ahmed as their spin bowling options.
With Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli, the RCB has two experienced climbers at the top. Glenn Maxwell, who is expected to bat in the middle order, is hoping to continue his good run.
The finisher role will be filled by Dinesh Karthik but RCB are missing solid Indian names after sacking the likes of KS Bharat. They didn’t even bid for local racquet Abhinav Manohar, who was in fine form during the national limited overs.
While Maxwell, Sherfane Rutherford, Mahipal Lomror and Aneeshwar Gautam are the squad’s all-rounders, RCB will also have the batting options of Hasaranga, Shahbaz and David Willey.
When it comes to pace bowling, RCB has its golden duo of Mohammed Siraj and Harshal Patel bought back at Rs 10.25 crore.
You have left pacemakers in Jason Behrendorff and Willey.
The biggest addition to their pace bowling division was Josh Hazlewood, who was in superb T20 form, winning the IPL title and T20 World Cup trophy last year.
RCB SQUAD FOR IPL 2022
Royal challengers Bangalore:
Retained Players: Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell and Mohammed Siraj.
Player auctioned: Faf du Plessis, Harshal Patel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dinesh Karthik, Anuj Rawat, Shahbaz Ahamad, Akash Deep, Josh Hazlewood, Mahipal Lomror, Finn Allen, Sherfane Rutherford, Jason Behrendorff, Suyash Prabhudessai, Chama Milind, Aneeshwar Gautam, Karn Sharma, Siddharth Kaul, Luvnith Sisodia, and David Willey.
