IPL 2023: Familiar failings come to haunt RCB

The over-dependence on their star batters, the inability of domestic talent to rise to the occasion, injuries to key personnel, failure of the bowling unit as a whole and a scouting team that just keeps fluffing the lines combined into a deadly cocktail to spell doom for Royal Challengers Bangalore’s hopes of bagging the elusive IPL trophy.

For a vast majority of 16 seasons, RCB have relied on their star batters to get the bulk of the job done. In the initial years it was the trio of Chris Gayle, AB De Villiers and Virat Kohli with the latter then pairing up with current skipper Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell over the last few years to form the fulcrum of the franchise’s batting. This season was no different as Du Plessis (730 runs and current Orange Cap holder), Kohli (639) and Maxwell (400) led Bangalore’s batting with gusto.

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The problem for RCB was, apart from the trio, no one else fired consistently. Dinesh Karthik, who sparkled in the previous season with some game-changing knocks that resulted in him earning a stunning recall from the wilderness into the Indian team for the T20 World Cup last October-November, was a complete letdown this year. He managed just 140 runs from 13 games thus denying RCB the final flourish that he provided the previous year.

Karthik isn’t alone to blame as the rest of his middle-order colleagues like Mahipal Lomror (135 runs/12 games), Anuj Rawat (91/9), Shahbaz Ahmed (42/10) and Suyash S Prabhudesai (35/5) failed to produce even one standout innings. Compare it with other franchises where young domestic talents like Yashasvi Jaiswal (625 runs, RR), Ruturaj Gaikwad (504, CSK), Rinku Singh (474, KKR), Ishan Kishan (439, MI) and Shivam Dube (385, CSK) often stole the spotlight from established stars. RCB have struggled to create a star of their own.

A large part of the blame for this needs to be apportioned to the scouting team and the decisions made at the auction table. Malolan Rangarajan, who joined the franchise in 2019, currently heads the scouting division and his team is yet to churn out a signing who has made heads turn. Where teams like MI, GT, CSK, RR and KKR keep unearthing uncut gems, RCB have failed to polish even one.

Even at the auctions, RCB repeatedly get their act wrong. There was uncertainty over the availability of Rajat Patidar, who sparkled last season, owing to an Achilles Heel injury but RCB inexplicably hoped on his recovery rather than roping in a similar backup despite options being available. As fate would have it, Patidar didn’t pass the fitness test and RCB felt his absence at the top of the order.

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Like Patidar, RCB were bogged down by a raft of injuries. Will Jacks, rated very highly in the UK, didn’t make it to the tournament at all. Among bowlers, pace ace Josh Hazlewood managed just three games while key spinner Wanindu Hasaranga could play in eight. Reece Topley, brought in as a cover for Hazlewood, injured himself after just one game.

This had a telling effect on the bowling unit which struggled to adapt to the compact Chinnaswamy Stadium. Mohammed Siraj was in the reckoning for the Purple Cap for a while but then tailed off. Harshal Patel, coming back from an injury, couldn’t hit his straps while the remaining members too blew hot and blew cold.

RCB have a lot of issues to address, failing which the title may just remain elusive.