IPL 2020: ‘He brings a lot of experience,’ Virat Kohli explains why RCB have most balanced squad since 2016

They were the most dominant team in 2016 with de Villiers and Kohli wreaking havoc for them. They reached the finals but were defeated by Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have been searching for their first Indian Premier League title since the inception of the tournament in 2008. They have always had power packed players in their squad like Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Chris Gayle, Shane Watson or KL Rahul but have always managed to come up short in crucial situations. Criticism has surrounded the team in recent years after RCB ended up in the bottom half of the table in consecutive seasons.

File image of Virat Kohli.(Vipin Kumar/HT PHOTO)

It wasn’t as if they haven’t come close to the title in the past. They were the most dominant team in 2016 with de Villiers and Kohli wreaking havoc for them. They reached the finals but were defeated by Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Now in 2020 also, they are looking to bag their maiden title. And captain Kohli feels the team has the most all-round squad this season since 2016.

“I would definitely agree with that (most all-round squad). The reason why we wanted someone like Chris Morris precisely for that reason. He brings a lot of experience into the squad.

“The youngsters whom we have picked this year are exciting too. Someone like Aaron Finch, who has a lot of experience, playing international cricket for a while, Josh Philippe, up and coming, exciting player.

“We have got a great balance of experience, the skill required for T20 cricket and the youngsters in the team who are eager to take up responsibilities and looking forward to opportunities.

“To be honest, that 2016 season which we all loved to be a part of, since then this is the most balanced I have felt about the squad, as a system as to where we are heading. It’s been very well taken care of now. It’s up to us to execute on the field.”

RCB have begun training in Dubai for the tournament and will face their 2016 final opponents (SRH) in their first match of IPL 2020 on September 21.