After the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) women’s team ended the franchise’s trophy drought in the Women’s Premier League, the Faf du Plessis-led men’s team will aim to replicate the feat and bag their long-awaited IPL title in the upcoming 17th edition of Indian Premier League (IPL), starting on Friday, March 22. Having finished a disappointing sixth on the IPL 2023 points table, RCB will look to give a better account of themselves in the new season and they begin their campaign by locking horns with defending champions and five-time winners Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the opening match of IPL 2024 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

While RCB have finished runners-up thrice in 2009, 2011 and 2016, they will be desperate to clinch their maiden IPL title.

Despite failing to get their hands on the coveted trophy, the Bengaluru-based franchise is supported by their loyal fanbase, known to turn up in large numbers, especially at their home ground, M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

India’s former captain, Virat Kohli, has donned the red and blue jersey every year since the inception of IPL. He has been part of the set-up alongside legends such as Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers.

Kohli has stood true to his nickname of The Run Machine as he is IPL’s all-time highest run-getter with 7263 runs from 237 matches. Kohli also captained the side from 2013 to 2021. Out of their eight appearances in the IPL playoffs, Kohli led the team in four such editions.

After Kohli, Faf du Plessis was named RCB captain and he will lead the team in the upcoming season too. Ahead of the new campaign, RCB have assembled a formidable squad for the marquee tournament, including six new players from the IPL mini-auction in December 2023.

The new additions to the RCB squad include West Indies pacer Alzarri Joseph, who was RCB’s costliest purchase at INR 11.5 crore. The other players include Yash Dayal (INR 5 crore), Lockie Ferguson (INR 2 crore), Tom Curran (INR 1.5 crore), Swapnil Singh (INR 20 lakh) and Saurav Chauhan (INR 20 lakh).

Let’s dissect their squad in our SWOT analysis to understand the possibilities of RCB ending their hunt for the elusive IPL trophy in 2024.

Strengths

Just like previous editions, RCB have a star-studded batting line-up with the likes of Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, Rajat Patidar and Dinesh Karthik at their disposal.

Kohli and du Plessis have been one of the most consistent opening pairs in recent years. In 2023, the duo crossed the 100-run mark several times for the first-wicket partnership with a 172-run stand being the season’s highest.

The middle-order is further strengthened by Australian stars Glenn Maxwell and Cameron Green. The latter was traded in a cash deal from Mumbai Indians for a whopping INR 17.5 crore. It will also be exciting to see how RCB form their top five with Rajat Patidar and Dinesh Karthik to follow in the middle and lower batting order.

Weaknesses

RCB’s bowling attack can be considered as one of its major weaknesses. They have released some key players from their squad and the absence of a match-winner in their bowling department makes for a slippery slope.

Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj fared well for RCB with 19 wickets in the 2023 season. However, he sometimes lacks consistency and their other pacers like Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Tom Curran and Lockie Ferguson haven’t proven their mettle in the IPL on a consistent basis yet.

Coming to the spin bowling department, Wanindu Hasaranga was released by RCB after IPL 2023, leaving the team with Karn Sharma as their only specialist spin option.

As a result, the Bengaluru-based franchise will rely heavily on the likes of Glenn Maxwell, Will Jacks and Mahipal Lomror’s part-time spin. However, with the rule of including no more than four overseas players in the playing XI, things will be tricky for the RCB skipper.

Opportunities

The new bouncer rule, allowing bowlers to bowl a maximum of two bouncers per over, poses an opportunity for RCB’s tall bowlers like Joseph and Reece Topley and to some extent, Siraj too. They can maximise their chances of picking up wickets by using the new short ball rule to its optimum strength.

For players like Patidar, Will Jacks and Suyash Prabhudessai, the new season presents a plethora of opportunities, especially in the middle order. They will be hoping to make their mark in the team by contributing for Bengaluru consistently.

Threats

RCB’s dependency on their top-order has carried on from the first few seasons like generational agony. In earlier seasons, the team heavily depended on Chris Gayle to give a powerful start, further bolstered by AB de Villiers and Kohli. That mantle has been passed on to du Plessis and Kohli as also witnessed in IPL 2023.

Moreover, Indian wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik had a forgetful IPL 2023 as he managed 140 runs in 13 matches at a strike rate of 134.61. He smashed only five sixes in the previous edition.

Furthermore, some foreign players like Will Jacks, Cameron Green, Reece Topley and Lockie Ferguson could miss parts of the league due to national duties with most of the cricketing boards focusing on the T20 World Cup 2024 scheduled to take place in June.

Probable XII

Faf du Plessis (captain), Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Cameron Green, Glenn Maxwell, Dinesh Karthik (wicketkeeper), Anuj Rawat, Alzarri Joseph, Mohammed Siraj, Karn Sharma/Mayank Dagar, Akash Deep/ Yash Dayal, Suyash Prabhudessai (impact sub)