RCB core players and associate staff start each season with fresh energy and strong remarks.
RCB’s fans demand a lot from him.
His followers promoted RCB by shouting “E year cup namde” (this year’s cup is ours in Kannada).
RCB’s official social media adopted this tagline, however RCB and its followers became troll content till IPL’s finish.
RCB features good batters, including Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, and Chris Gayle.
During 2011-2017, the batsmen who could win all three matches played the best partnerships in several seasons.
In a short season, Marcus Stoinis, Devadatta Padikkal, Sarfaraz Khan, and Glenn Maxwell impressed. The squad always had excellent bowlers.
RCB has reached the IPL finals three times, losing two times by a narrow margin.
Playing the IPL final three times is different from winning it once.
Best team shortage
RCB has always struggled to pick an all-rounder and bowler, but not with batting.
During a dismal first season (2008), then-owner Vijay Mallya openly criticized team captain Rahul Dravid and CEO Charu Sharma for the squad’s selection.
The next season’s team selection was also panned by experts and fans.
The selectors often picked excellent all-rounders and match winners, but they either underperformed or didn’t play together. Jacques Kallis, Shane Watson, Quinton de Cock.
Bowling challenges
He lacks a T-20 fast bowler while having threatening batters. Mitchell Stark may be the exception, having played only two seasons.
Zaheer Khan, Tim Saudi, and Dale Steyn struggled in the IPL.
Vinay Kumar and Mohammad Siraj played well in several matches but did not win many matches.
RCB fast bowler Hershal Patel has fared successfully for multiple seasons.
RCB lacks a match-winning spinner.
Yuzwendra Chahal has taken wickets for over 7 seasons. In season one, Anil Kumble worked hard. Muralitharan and Daniel Vettori were champion bowlers, but the team failed.
Reducing stress
RCB resembles South Africa’s Men’s National Cricket Team.
Neither can avoid the choker tag. South Africa never won the ICC World Cup.
Since 1992, South Africa has been a World Cup favorite, yet they always lose.
Kallis, Clusner, Donald, Boucher, Crony, and Rhodes excelled near South Africa in the 1999 World Cup. They lost in the semi-finals to Australia. 2015 World Cup semi-finals.
South Africa failed to qualify for the 2003 World Cup second leg despite playing at home and having a good team. The team and specialists often highlighted “coping under pressure.”
RCB lost another close knockout match due to pressure. The 2016 finals were within reach for the squad. He was supposed to win easily after chasing RCB for half the innings.
RCB lost again when the batsmen faltered.
RCB’s 2023 season.
BBC interviewed cricket analyst Anand Venkataraman.
“There have always been bowling issues with RCB. The squad never had really powerful bowlers and occasionally the greatest bowlers they had picked did not play to their best. He did not even have match winning all-rounder in many seasons,” he adds.
“RCB may forget the past and win this time. Du Plessis, Kohli, and Karthik are veterans. The Maujuda team includes a combination of veteran and young all-rounders and bowlers and has won multiple IPL and T-20 matches.
RCB’s return to their home stadium is another encouraging indicator, according to Anand Venkataraman. “If they handle the pressure effectively in knock-out matches, RCB will not have much obstacle in clinching the championship.”
Because “there are many times between the cup and the lips,” RCB will have to keep an eye on everything.
By overcoming RCB pressure and winning the competition, they will show the “E Year Cup Namde” real.
