IPL 2021: Royal Challengers Bangalore - Team profile and full squad

IPL 2021 - The team lacks genuine match winners apart from Kohli and AB de Villiers and an unsettled bowling attack has been their bane over the years. Whether they can get beyond their weaknesses to win the title remains to be seen.

Virat Kohli and his merry bunch of 'Royal Challengers' will look to win their maiden title once again when they hit the ground in IPL 2021. The team has lost three finals and made it to the play-offs last season. Yet, there has been a lot of chopping and changing as RCB continue to look for their best playing XI.

Live streaming of Rajasthan Royals (RR) vs (RCB) Royal Challengers Bangalore, Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018 match at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur was available online. Virat Kohli’s RCB lost by 30 runs to be knocked out of the play-off race.(AFP)

The team lacks genuine match winners apart from Kohli and AB de Villiers and an unsettled bowling attack has been their bane over the years. Whether they can get beyond their weaknesses to win the title remains to be seen.

RCB's best shot is to somehow make the play-offs and then expect a big performance from Kohli and ABD in the knock-outs. Unfortunately for them the script has gone awry for them far too many times. But they will not stop trying.

Here is the full squad of Royal Challengers Bangalore for IPL 2021: Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers, Devdutt Padikkal, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Siraj, Kane Richardson, Washington Sundar, Pavan Deshpande, Finn Allen, Shahbaz Ahamad, Navdeep Saini, Adam Zampa, Kyle Jamieson, Glenn Maxwell, Rajat Patidar, Sachin Baby, Mohammed Azharuddeen, Daniel Christian, KS Bharat, Suyash Prabhudessai, Daniel Sams, Harshal Patel.

Strengths

Explosive batting order

The envious combination of Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers will have some added help this season with the addition of Glenn Maxwell. BBL big hitter Daniel Christian and domestic sensation Azharuddeen's addition means RCB have an explosive batting order.

If that wasn’t enough you have local talents like Washington Sundar and Harshal Patel who have proven that they can use the long handle to good effect.

Virat the Opener

With Virat Kohli stating that he will open for RCB in the upcoming season, it changes the entire complexity of the side. Last time Kohli opened in an IPL season he scored close to 1000 runs. With Kohli opening they can play all their explosive batsman in the top 4.

Weakness

Middle order Inconsistency

Though they have two of the most explosive middle order batsmen, the team has never been known for its consistency. Glenn Maxwell is yet to show the consistency he has shown for Australia. Barring AB de Villiers there is no player in the RCB middle-order who has proven his mettle in the IPL.

Fast Bowling Woes

RCB’s pace bowlers are young and talented but they lack experience. Siraj and Harshal Patel are the only bowlers to have played more than 30 IPL matches. The likes of Kyle Jamieson and Daniel Sams are relative newcomers to the IPL.

Opportunity

Places up for Grabs

There are almost 5 places up for grabs in the RCB line-up ranging from middle order batsmen to spinning all-rounders to pace bowlers. Players like Harshal Patel, KS Bharat, Sachin Baby, Mohammed Azharuddeen, Kane Richardson, Dan Christian will have ample opportunities to cement their place in the playing XI.

Home Venue

RCB will be playing most of their matches at Eden Gardens. The long boundaries and the effectiveness of pace at the Eden pitch will serve RCB better than their home venue of Chinnaswamy Stadium. Their home win rate of 49.31% at the Chinnaswamy stadium should only get better at the Eden Gardens.

Moreover, with Eden Gardens being one of the bigger grounds in the IPL, their spinners will have a slight advantage as opposed to bowling at Chinnaswamy.

Threats

Win Consistency

RCB have been an explosive side throughout the IPL. The one thing they haven’t been able to do consistently is “WIN” matches. Also, RCB’s batting and bowling performing in the same match is a very rare phenomenon.

The Form of Virat Kohli

The form of Virat Kohli is directly proportional to RCB’s form. Even if RCB has the likes of AB de Villiers and Glenn Maxwell who are match winners, RCB fortunes have rested on the shoulders of Virat Kohli’s form.