IPL 2023: Strongest Playing XI For Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)

The much-awaited Indian Premier League 2023 auction is over and now all 10 franchises are ready with their team combination for the upcoming edition. After delivering a notable performance in this year’s T20 World Cup, Sam Curran grabbed the limelight in the event too by becoming the most expensive player with a whopping sum of INR 18.5 crores. Cameron Green and Ben Stokes also got hefty amounts of INR 17.5 crores and 16.25 crores respectively. Another side, Nicholas Pooran also surprised viewers by getting grabbed at INR 16 crores.  

This year, the three-time finalists RCB roped in two English players Will Jacks (INR 3.2 crores) and Reece Topley (INR 1.9 crores), who debuted this year for England in international cricket. Last year, Challengers ended in the third position and failed to clinch the title for another time. However, since 2020, RCB is the only squad to qualify for playoffs for three consecutive seasons, and this fact will also give them the confidence to go ahead and win their first trophy in 2023. After the conclusion of the 2023 auction, they also have a perfect XI squad that includes talented players who have the potential to leave an impact in the tournament.

Here is the playing XI of RCB after the conclusion of the mini-auction:

1. Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli has been a part of the RCB since its inception in 2008. In his 15 years of IPL career, he amassed 6,624 runs in 223 matches at a strike rate of 129.15, with five centuries and 44 half-centuries. In the last season, he couldn’t perform up to expectations with just 341 runs in 16 matches at a dismal strike rate of 115.99. The team management tried him as a number three batter and opener too, but the legendary Indian cricketer didn’t look good with his bat.

In the next edition, the franchise will look for some amazing displays from him. Since the Asia Cup 2022 tournament, he has been in fine touch playing some important knocks for India. Noticing his recent form, RCB fans will also expect him to deliver some solid innings to the team.

In the 2016 edition, he had his best IPL season scoring 973 runs in just 16 matches at a strike rate of 152.03, with four hundreds. Going through his potential and reputation, it can be speculated that the veteran could find his form in the upcoming season too. His last century came against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). In 2023, fans are hoping that he will lighten up the tournament again notching up a century after four years.