Royal Challengers Bangalore IPL 2022 Preview

IPL 2022 marks a new chapter for the tournament’s perennial underachievers – Royal Challengers Bangalore – as Virat Kohli hands over the captaincy duties to Faf du Plessis after eight years at the helm. Following the departure of long-standing stalwarts such as AB de Villiers and Yuzvendra Chahal, RCB will be fielding a new-look side in 2022 with the additions of experienced stars such as Dinesh Karthik and Josh Hazlewood alongside Du Plessis.

Strengths

RCB have one of the strongest bowling sides in the tournament, with plenty of quality in their attack to cover all phases of the game. Amongst the pacers, Josh Hazlewood and Mohammed Siraj form a deadly combination in the powerplay with the new ball, while Harshal Patel was the most successful bowler in the death last season, winning the purple cap with 32 wickets. In terms of spinning options, RCB are very well placed in terms of variety and potency, with Wanindu Hasaranga as the primary leg-spinner alongside Glenn Maxwell and Shahbaz Ahmed, who provide right-arm and left-arm off-spin options.

RCB also have two of the best finishers in the IPL in Dinesh Karthik and Wanindu Hasaranga and have a deep batting line-up with the likes of Harshal Patel coming in at number nine.

Weaknesses

The primary weakness of the side is in the batting department, with Virat Kohli as the only frontline Indian batter in the squad. More concerningly, RCB have assembled a batting line-up with two anchor-type openers in Kohli and du Plessis, despite being plagued by a lack of fast-starters at the top of the order over the past few years.

RCB have also placed a lot of faith in two untested quantities at the IPL level in Mahipal Lomror and Anur Rawat, and the team has a distinct lack of quality hitters against spin, placing plenty of responsibility on the shoulders of Glenn Maxwell to replicate his form from last season.

Player to watch out for: Wanindu Hasaranga

RCB brought back Sri Lankan all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga for an eye-watering sum of 10.75 crores in the IPL auction, and the leg-spinner is one of the most exciting talents in T20 cricket who lends excellent balance to the RCB side. 

Hasaranga is one of the best leg-spinners in the world at the moment, picking up 57 wickets in 35 T20I matches for Sri Lanka at an incredible economy rate of 6.39 and strike rate of 12.91. With the bat, Hasaranga can hold his own as a lower-order power-hitter and gives RCB some excellent batting depth alongside the likes of Dinesh Karthik and Shahbaz Ahmed.

Likely Playing XI

Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis, Anuj Rawat, Glenn Maxwell, Mahipal Lomror, Dinesh Karthik, Wanindu Hasaranga, Shahbaz Ahmed, Harshal Patel, Josh Hazlewood, Mohammed Siraj