Royal Challengers Bangalore consistently reached playoffs in three consecutive seasons during 2020, 2021 & 2022, but in 2023 they failed to reach the knockout stage as they lost their must-win game against Gujarat Titans in their final match of the league stage unfortunately. Here, in this article, we will see how RCB’s playing XI could pan out for the 2024 IPL from their retention list.
Openers: Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli
RCB skipper Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli recorded a partnership of 939 runs in total from just 14 innings at an average of 67.07 for the opening wicket in the 2023 IPL, which is joint-highest by any batting pair in a single IPL season.
Faf du Plessis was the second-highest run-scorer (730) and Virat Kohli was the fourth-highest run-scorer (639) in the 2023 IPL season.
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Middle Order: Rajat Patidar, Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Maxwell, Dinesh Karthik
Rajat Patidar missed out on playing the 2023 IPL due to injury but in the 2022 season, he was very impressive with the bat, where he went on to smash an unbeaten knock of 112 runs from 54 balls against Lucknow Super Giants in the eliminator game and also scored 58 runs off 42 balls against Rajasthan Royals in the 2nd qualifier game.
Mahipal Lomror in the last IPL season was seen playing important cameos with the bat by scoring 34 runs off 18 balls against KKR and an unbeaten 54 runs off 29 balls against DC respectively. He could unleash his full potential in this IPL season if he gets a consistent run in the side.
Glenn Maxwell has been in the form of his life by smashing the fastest century in the World Cup, a double century in a run-chase, and also registered another century against India in the recently concluded 3rd T20I match. Maxwell scored 400 runs in the 2023 IPL season at an impressive strike rate of 183.48
Dinesh Karthik was disappointing with the bat in the 2023 IPL season, but prior to 2022, he was brilliant for RCB as a finisher with an impressive numbers of scoring 330 runs from 16 innings at an impressive strike rate of 183.33. If Dinesh Karthik returns to his old 2022 form then he will be a dangerous batter as finisher in the upcoming IPL season.
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All Rounder: Cameron Green
Cameron Green has been traded for a huge price of 17.5 crores for RCB from MI. Green in the 2023 IPL season has scored 452 runs from 16 innings at an average of 50.22 with a huge strike rate of 160.28 respectively. If Green continues his dangerous form with the bat in the 2024 IPL then RCB will have a solid batting lineup with Kohli, Faf, Maxwell, and Green in their squad.
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Bowlers: Reece Topley, Mohammed Siraj, Mayank Dagar, Akash Deep
Mohammed Siraj was the leading wicket-taker for RCB in the 2023 IPL season with 19 wickets to his name from 14 innings at an economy of 7.50. Siraj’s recent form in the 2023 World Cup will give him a mental edge to have a positive impact on his bowling skills.
Reece Topley played only one game in the IPL 2023 season against Mumbai Indians, but in the recently concluded 2023 World Cup, he was seen picking 8 wickets from just 3 games at an economy of 6.61. Topley being a left-arm fast bowler will be a huge advantage for this side.
Mayank Dagar was traded from SRH for a decent price as RCB will need a left-arm spin bowler. He has played only 3 games in his IPL career so far and if given more opportunities he could become a great asset for his side.
Akash Deep played only 2 games in the last IPL season and dismissed the Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. This season he may get to play more games for his franchise although they will be looking to buy new bowlers in the auction.
