Can Royal Challengers Bangalore and their star man Virat Kohli finally get their hands on the IPL trophy?
It's a question that seems to get asked every time the Indian Premier League rolls around, but the title still evades the Indian batting legend.
Kohli recently celebrated his 15th anniversary with the franchise, having made his debut in the very first IPL back in 2008. And how he'd love to break his trophy drought with the team now captained by South Africa veteran Faf du Plessis.
Here's a look at the RCB squad for 2023, the new additions and the strengths and weaknesses.
MORE: Virat Kohli's career in the IPL: Why he's never won it with RCB
RCB 2023 IPL squad
There was once a time when RCB boasted the world-class trio of AB de Villiers, Chris Gayle and Kohli in their top order. Mind you, they still never managed to win the IPL.
This year's squad is perhaps not as star-studded, with Du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell and Dinesh Karthik asked to support Kohli in the run-making.
England and Surrey's Will Jacks has been ruled out of the entire tournament after suffering a muscle injury while fielding in the recent Bangladesh white-ball series.
| Player | Role | Age | Auction Price | Nation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Faf du Plessis (c) | Batter | 38 | IND 7 crore ($850,000) | South Africa |
| Virat Kohli | Batter | 34 | IND 15 crore ($1.8m) | India |
| Suyash Prabhudessai | Batter | 25 | IND 30 lakhs ($36,000) | India |
| Rajat Patidar | Batter | 29 | IND 20 lakhs ($24,000) | India |
| Dinesh Karthik | Batter/Wicket-keeper | 37 | IND 5.5 crore ($666,000) | India |
| Anuj Rawat | Batter/Wicket-keeper | 23 | IND 3.4 crore ($412,00) | India |
| Finn Allen | Batter | 23 | IND 80 lakhs ($100,000) | New Zealand |
| Glenn Maxwell | All-rounder | 34 | IND 11 crore ($1.33m) | Australia |
| Wanindu Hasaranga | All-rounder | 25 | IND 10.75 crore ($1.3m) | Sri Lanka |
| Shahbaz Ahmed | All-rounder | 28 | IND 2.4 crore ($29,000) | India |
| Harshal Patel | Pace bowler | 32 | IND 10.75 crore ($1.3m) | India |
| David Willey | All-rounder | 33 | IND 2 crore ($260,00) | England |
| Karn Sharma | Spinner | 35 | IND 50 lakhs ($60,000) | India |
| Mahipal Lomror | All-rounder | 23 | IND 95 lakhs ($115,000) | India |
| Josh Hazlewood | Pace bowler | 32 | IND 7.75 crore ($940,000) | Australia |
| Mohammed Siraj | Pace bowler | 29 | IND 7 crore ($850,000) | India |
| Siddarth Kaul | Pace bowler | 32 | IND 75 lakhs ($90,000) | India |
| Akash Deep | All-rounder | 26 | IND 20 lakhs ($24,000) | India |
| Reece Topley | Pace bowler | 29 | IND 1.9 crore ($250,00) | England |
| Himanshu Sharma | Spinner | 24 | IND 20 lakhs ($24,000) | India |
| Will Jacks* | All-rounder | 24 | IND 3.2 crore ($387,000) | England |
| Manoj Bhandage | All-rounder | 24 | IND 20 lakhs ($24,000) | India |
| Rajan Kumar | Batter | 26 | IND 70 lakhs ($85,000) | India |
| Avinash Singh | Pace bowler | 24 | IND 60 lakhs ($74,000) | India |
| R Sonu Yadav | All-rounder | 23 | IND 20 lakhs ($24,000) | India |
*Replaced by Michael Bracewell due to injury
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Royal Challengers Bangalore stars, strengths & weaknesses
The loss of Jacks is a significant one, although there's no shortage of spinning all-rounders in the RCB squad. Maxwell may be asked to do a fair amount of bowling, along with Wanindu Hasaranga who is a threat with his leg-spin and boundary hitting.
In general, the squad looks fairly well balanced, albeit maybe short of out-and-out pace in the bowling department.
Gutted. I’ll be back. https://t.co/4sXnD0e4Oy
— Will Jacks (@Wjacks9) March 15, 2023
Stars
You have to say Virat Kohli. He may never have won the IPL with his team, but he's top of the charts on an individual level when it comes to run-scoring. His recent return to form across all formats will have RCB fans hopeful that he can lead the franchise to the top this year.
Maxwell and Hasaranga will be vital in the middle order and with their spin bowling, while the variety of slower balls and variations served up by Harshal Patel can be very effective.
Virat Kohli’s pep talk to the RCB Women’s Team
— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) March 16, 2023
King came. He spoke. He inspired. He’d be proud watching the girls play the way they did last night. Watch @imVkohli's pre-match chat in the team room on Bold Diaries.#PlayBold #ನಮ್ಮRCB #WPL2023 pic.twitter.com/fz1rxZnID2
Strengths
Bowling depth is definitely a strength, in both spin and pace departments.
Reece Topley has been ruled out through injury but Patel, Josh Hazlewood and Mohammed Siraj make up a fairly varied seam attack.
Weaknesses
If Kohli doesn't fire with the bat, where are the big runs coming from? Du Plessis is in his twilight years as a batter and Maxwell can run hot and cold.
The other batting options are fairly young and untested and it could mean RCB are prone to collapsing or falling short of big totals.
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