<p>Let’s take the case of RCB openers. In Tillakaratne Dilshan, the Bangalore outfit has an explosive opener capable of taking the match away from the opposition in a jiffy and if they can club him along with the equally exciting Manish Pandey, provided RCB rope him from the pool of domestic players, then the opposition will have a tough time. The Bangalore outfit has also the option of using South Africa’s talented Rilee Rossouw as opener, if Dilshan does not fire as anticipated. <br /><br />“We are extremely happy with our effort in the auction. We got many players we wanted in our team. Now, we want to sign uncapped players as soon as possible and complete our team,” said Dr Vijay Mallya, owner of RCB.<br /><br />Cheteshwar Pujara, Saurabh Tiwary, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers, who can also double up as wicketkeeper, can control the middle-order and their presence in the team make RCB’s thinking crystal clear -- a massive shift to the effervescence youth. <br /><br />But have they missed a trick by not bidding for Rahul Dravid and trusting Pujara to do the job the veteran batsman has been doing? Mallya didn’t think on that lines. “I have known Rahul as a little boy because as you probably know his father worked for the UB Group. I have a lot of affection for him and the greatest of respect towards his cricketing achievements. <br /><br />“But after having had an experience of the IPL for three years, we consciously decided we want a young team. We were ready to live with the consequences of that decision. <br /><br />“If you see all our players are youngsters and we probably have the youngest team in the entire IPL. This is one of the inputs by none other than Anil Kumble, who is now the chief mentor of the team. I believe that we have an option to retain these youngsters for 2013 and it also ensures consistency. So, it was for that reason we went for the players we wanted at such high prices,” Mallya explained in detail. <br /><br />RCB bowling department might look a tad underwhelming in the absence of fiery Dale Steyn. <br /><br />But the return of Zaheer Khan will add more depth to the attack as the Mumbai man is a crafty customer and he will have the support of A Mithun, Dirk Nannes, Sri Lanka’s Nuwan Pradeep, a sling bowler in the mould of Lasith Malinga, and Johan Van der Wath. <br /><br />Though Mallya did not come out in open when asked about captaincy but the presence of New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori, also expected to shoulder RCB’s spin department, gives them a brilliant option as he is an extremely level-headed cricketer. Perhaps, Kohli could learn a few tricks from the brainy Kiwi before taking up the hot job. <br />So, brace up to watch a new-look RCB. <br /></p>
<p>Let’s take the case of RCB openers. In Tillakaratne Dilshan, the Bangalore outfit has an explosive opener capable of taking the match away from the opposition in a jiffy and if they can club him along with the equally exciting Manish Pandey, provided RCB rope him from the pool of domestic players, then the opposition will have a tough time. The Bangalore outfit has also the option of using South Africa’s talented Rilee Rossouw as opener, if Dilshan does not fire as anticipated. <br /><br />“We are extremely happy with our effort in the auction. We got many players we wanted in our team. Now, we want to sign uncapped players as soon as possible and complete our team,” said Dr Vijay Mallya, owner of RCB.<br /><br />Cheteshwar Pujara, Saurabh Tiwary, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers, who can also double up as wicketkeeper, can control the middle-order and their presence in the team make RCB’s thinking crystal clear -- a massive shift to the effervescence youth. <br /><br />But have they missed a trick by not bidding for Rahul Dravid and trusting Pujara to do the job the veteran batsman has been doing? Mallya didn’t think on that lines. “I have known Rahul as a little boy because as you probably know his father worked for the UB Group. I have a lot of affection for him and the greatest of respect towards his cricketing achievements. <br /><br />“But after having had an experience of the IPL for three years, we consciously decided we want a young team. We were ready to live with the consequences of that decision. <br /><br />“If you see all our players are youngsters and we probably have the youngest team in the entire IPL. This is one of the inputs by none other than Anil Kumble, who is now the chief mentor of the team. I believe that we have an option to retain these youngsters for 2013 and it also ensures consistency. So, it was for that reason we went for the players we wanted at such high prices,” Mallya explained in detail. <br /><br />RCB bowling department might look a tad underwhelming in the absence of fiery Dale Steyn. <br /><br />But the return of Zaheer Khan will add more depth to the attack as the Mumbai man is a crafty customer and he will have the support of A Mithun, Dirk Nannes, Sri Lanka’s Nuwan Pradeep, a sling bowler in the mould of Lasith Malinga, and Johan Van der Wath. <br /><br />Though Mallya did not come out in open when asked about captaincy but the presence of New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori, also expected to shoulder RCB’s spin department, gives them a brilliant option as he is an extremely level-headed cricketer. Perhaps, Kohli could learn a few tricks from the brainy Kiwi before taking up the hot job. <br />So, brace up to watch a new-look RCB. <br /></p>
