RCB SWOT Analysis for IPL 2024: Royal Challengers Bengaluru boast of superb top-order but spin department cause for concern

If there is one team that has been unfortunate to not lift the Indian Premier League (IPL) title thus far, it’s Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). Three runners-up finishes and eight playoff appearances in 16 seasons of the IPL might just be good enough to define what kind of a team RCB are, but the truth is that they have never really been at their best on most occasions.

Over the years, RCB have maintained a formidable unit, especially in their batting. In fact, they have created a legacy of prolific batters. Virat Kohli has been a constant presence in the RCB setup ever since the inaugural IPL season in 2008, and more recently, with the likes of Glenn Maxwell and current skipper Faf du Plessis, the batting department has only gotten stronger.

Previously, RCB have gone onto establish several star batters —Chris Gayle, AB de Villers to name a few. In fact, It’s almost as if RCB are more synonymous with their batters more than their bowlers. RCB’s last appearance in an IPL final was eight years back, when they lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). Will they go all the way this time? What are the chances? We take a look:

Strengths

Batting is and has been RCB’s major strength in the IPL over the past few years. Virat Kohli has become a force to reckon with, and so have Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell.  Kohli and du Plessis combined to forge more than 870 runs in last season’s IPL, and Glenn Maxwell also enjoyed a productive season, with 400 runs at a strike rate of 183.49.

That goes onto say a lot where their top-order is ahead of the new season. Add to the fact that Kohli’s spot in the India setup for T20Is is now uncertain, a few fine performances with the bat for RCB should see him back in contention.

Then there is Rajat Patidar. Somebody who bats at number three for RCB and adds balance to that top-order batting. He’s usually good with the bat, having displayed aggressive techniques in his 54-ball knock of 112* in IPL 2022. That was a season when Patidar racked up 333 runs from eight matches at a strike-rate of 152.75. Patidar, however, missed the entirety of IPL 2023 through injury and would be looking to make amends.

Weaknesses

RCB’s spin department is their major weakness going into the new season. RCB released Wanindu Hasaranga ahead of the IPL auction and had a major hole to be filled. And at the auction, RCB hardly invested on spinners. Hasaranga was the second best spinner for RCB last season with 10 scalps (after Karn Sharma’s nine wickets), and the Sri Lankan’s loss could be a heavy blow for RCB.

Karn Sharma will lead a rather young and inexperienced spin bowling unit that consists of Mayank Dagar, Swapnil Singh and Himanshu Sharma. There is Glenn Maxwell who can provide breakthroughs in the middle overs, but he doesn’t bowl often when compared to the other spinners in the RCB setup.

Their pace attack, too, seems pretty weak. Mohammed Siraj is the leader of the pack and he will have New Zealand’s Lockie Ferguson and West Indian Alzarri Joseph for support. There is Yash Dayal too. However, all three had underwhelming performances in IPL 2023 for their respective teams and Lockie Ferguson is even often injury prone. That leaves Siraj with lack of reliable support.

Opportunities

RCB have invested heavily on Cameron Green (Rs 17.50 crore) and given his exploits for Mumbai Indians last year, the Australian all-rounder could be in for another big season. Green scored 452 runs from 16 matches at a strike-rate of over 160 for MI last season, and took six wickets. Having said that, Green adds batting depth to that middle-order, and could be explosive in the death overs that will prove to be decisive.

Threat

Despite some big names at the top, RCB lack batting depth. They have Mahipal Lomror but he had a rather full season in IPL 2023 with just 135 runs from 12 matches. And RCB cannot keep depending on an ageing Dinesh Karthik to finish games for them.

Even Shahbaz Ahmed (who has been traded to SRH for upcoming season) could not add flexibility to that middle-order and neither did Anuj Rawat, who scored less than 200 runs from eight matches. Simply put, RCB’s middle-order batters have to turn up because you cannot always expect the big guns to produce the big runs.

Player to watch out

Virat Kohli — It may sound cliché but given the context of this IPL for Kohli, it might be make or break for him as far as his T20I aspirations with the Indian team is concerned. His legacy could take him into the T20 World Cup squad but the former RCB skipper would be keen on entering the squad with his form instead. Kohli can take inspiration from IPL 2023, where he scored 639 runs including two centuries and six fifties.

Season prediction

As always, “Ee sala cup named” has been RCB’s tagline in the IPL over the years but the Bengaluru side will have to work in unison in all departments. Given the lack of experience in the spin department, and lack of backup of pacers for Siraj, it’s tough to predict where RCB will end up this season. But, the minimum expectation from their loyal supporters would be reaching the playoffs. Who knows, getting there might set a platform for things to come.

Predicted playing XI

Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis (Captain), Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, Dinesh Karthik, Mayank Dagar, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Mohammed Siraj, Lockie Ferguson, Akash Deep.

Squad:

Retained players:  Faf du Plessis (C), Glenn Maxwell, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik, Suyash Prabhudessai, Will Jacks, Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma, Manoj Bhandage, Vyshak Vijay Kumar, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma, Rajan Kumar, Mayank Dagar, Cameron Green

Players bought by RCB at IPL 2024 Auction: Alzarri Joseph (Rs 11.50 crore), Yash Dayal (Rs 5 crore), Tom Curran (Rs 1.5 crore), Lockie Ferguson (Rs 2 crore), Swapnil Singh (Rs 20 lakh)