IPL 10: SWOT Analysis of the Royal Challengers Bangalore

Royal Challengers Bangalore, have made it to the finals of IPL only three times despite boasting an array of international players who are capable of winning the trophy for the club single-handedly. It has been astonishing to see how the star-studded line-up has failed to lift the trophy at least once. Virat Kohli and co have to step-up this season to ensure that they do not endure the same fate that they have in the last nine seasons of this prestigious tournament.

Strengths:

1) Heavy Batting-lineup

The Royal Challengers Bangalore have a batting line-up which only teams could dream of with the likes of Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers jam-packed in the same playing XI. The line-up is also called as the T20 batting powerhouse by the critics.

Chris Gayle started the tournament on a very low note with the Jamaican scoring only in single digits in his first four appearances for the club. His first double-digit score had come in his fifth innings before the T20 specialist picked up pace with scores of 49 and 73 that followed.

He then went back into a nutshell with a mini-collapse of 1 and 9 in his next two matches and then followed it up with 76 runs in the all important IPL final, which also was his first fifty in an IPL final.

It is most likely that the Jamaican would open with the Australian all-rounder Shane Watson. Watson has previously opened the batting for the National side on numerous occasions. It would be an added strength to the side as they would want their star all-rounder to get back in form as soon as possible.

Watson would be rusty for the first few matches of the season considering his long absence after the Big Bash tournament, although providing more chances would allow him to grow in confidence and stature.

However, the likes of AB De Villiers, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul pulled the engines of the side from Bengaluru with the captain scoring a mammoth 919 runs from just 15 games, including six fifties and four hundred. It was also the highest score by batsmen in a single season of IPL going past Gayle and Hussey’s record of 750 runs in one season.

Unfortunately for the Challengers, KL Rahul has been ruled out of the entire tournament with an injured shoulder, which means that Sarfaraz Khan might get a chance to shine ahead of the others in the pecking order.

AB de Villiers followed suit as the third highest scorer in IPL 9 by scoring 682 runs in as many games as Kohli with a century and six half-centuries under his belt.

It is most likely that the Challengers are going to add the young Tamil Nadu wicket-keeper N Jagadeesan as a backup to the injured Rahul, which is a like to like replacement seeing the young 21-year-old’s performance in the domestic season.

2) Chahal- The spin wizard

RCB’s turn-around in the bowling department was made possible only due to the magic of the right-arm of the leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, who ended up as the second leading wicket-taker in the league with 21 wickets in just 13 appearances for the club.

Chahal went on to represent the Indian team impressing the world picking up six wickets against a destructive English side at Bengaluru. His form would be crucial in the absence of the deadly Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc, who ruled himself out of the RCB squad.

It would, however, be interesting to see what the leg-spinner could do along with the presence of the English fast bowler Tymal Mills, who was picked up for a hefty amount of 12 crores by the Vettori-led outfit. Aniket Choudary would want to make an impact with the Indian captain Kohli already impressed with the left-arm seamer.

Weakness:

1) Bowling Department-less Chahal

The bowling department of the Royal Challengers was a mess last season in the absence of the Australian quick and RCB’s spearhead Mitchell Starc, who was ruled out of the tournament with an injury.

Chris Jordan, who when given the opportunity failed to impress Kohli and co with substandard performances against the likes of Pune and Gujarat where he leaked over 40 runs with wickets lesser than what Kohli would have expected.

The lack of quality fast bowlers was what let the Challengers down at the IPL, and the addition of Aniket Choudary and Tymal Mills might prove to be a good option for the team.

2) Injuries

Royal Challengers have already been on the receiving end of some terrible news with injuries to KL Rahul and Virat Kohli. AB de Villiers would want to be as fit as possible after a back injury ruled him out from the finals of the South African Domestic tournament.

The physio and the medical staffs are on their toes to keep the players as fit as possible. Any more injury in the camp would turn the side’s tournament from bad to worse.

Opportunities:

Pawan Negi would want to impress Vettori and co and grab his opportunity to come into the playing XI as an all-rounder.

Aniket Choudary would want to use IPL as a platform to announce his name on the biggest stage of Indian domestic season. Virat Kohli has immense confidence in the left-arm seamer, who also coincidentally served as a net bowler for the Indian team in their preparations to face the likes of Starc and co.

Mills is the only pacer in the team who comes with a reputation of his own. With a look at the batting line-up, it is very unlikely that he would be short of runs to defend. It would, however, be a test of his skills with the back of the hand slow ball and his ability to fire yorkers at the death of the innings. It would complete the puzzle that RCB needs to win the IPL.

Former Kings XI Punjab opener Mandeep Singh would want to prove his worth to the Indian captain after failing at the top of the order for the Bengaluru team.

Sarfaraz Khan would want to use the opportunity to showcase his talent after his sporadic spell of power-hitting. The 19-year-old, as per the coach Daniel Vettori is most likely to replace the injured captain Virat Kohli which only adds burden on the youngster. However, the youngster’s performance would be on the rise after his monstrous display in the previous season of IPL.

Threats:

Royal Challengers have not been able to click off as a team, despite top individual performances and personal accolades. The teamwork amongst the Bengaluru team would be a threat to the chances of the team winning the coveted silverware.

Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders and Rising Pune Supergiants have made their case strong for an IPL win with some smart buys, with the Pune team acquiring the services of the English all-rounder Ben Stokes at the cost of 14 crores.

What would be more interesting to see is if Gujarat Lions are able to click off on the biggest stage of the tournament after their failure in the play-offs last season. If the Lions are able to get through the severe stages of the competition, they will emerge as a top-shot for the trophy.

Royal Challengers should be varied of all the competitors in putting up solid displays right from the beginning of the tournament to lift what would be their first IPL trophy after spending previous nine seasons in the shadow of the other teams.