virat kohli: IPL 2022, Royal Challenger Bangalore Preview: An unburdened Virat Kohli, no AB de Villiers and gaps to plug

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)

Captain: Faf du Plessis

Coaching Staff: Mike Hesson (director of cricket), Sanjay Bangar (head coach), Sridharan Sriram (batting and spin coach), Adam Griffiths (bowling coach), Malolan Rangarajan (fielding coach)

Owner: Royal Challengers Sports Private Ltd

Best Performance: Runners-up in 2009, 2011, 2016

2021 Performance: Third in the league phase. Losing to KKR in the Eliminator.

SQUAD

Faf du Plessis (c), Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Mohammed Siraj, Harshal Patel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dinesh Karthik, Anuj Rawat, Shahbaz Ahmed, Akash Deep, Josh Hazlewood, Mahipal Lomror, Finn Allen, Sherfane Rutherford, Jason Behrendorff, Suyash Prabhudessai, Chama Milind, Aneeshwar Gautam, Karn Sharma, Siddharth Kaul, Luvnith Sisodia, David Willey

Players’ Availability: Glenn Maxwell, who got married recently, will miss the first couple of games, while Josh Hazlewood is set to miss the first three matches due to Australia commitments.

Batting

Virat Kohli is not the captain anymore. How does that affect his batting — whether it frees him up for good or leaves him uninspired — remains to be seen. But the possibility of an unshackled Kohli scything through the bowling attacks makes the whole scenario very tempting. There is an AB de Villiers-sized hole in their batting order, but Glenn Maxwell has the ability and armoury of shots that may not let the South African’s absence felt. Devdutt Padikkal’s calming presence at the top may not be missed with Faf du Plessis’ arrival. Dinesh Karthik and Wanindu Hasaranga will need to provide finishing touches.

Like in the past, they have gaps to plug this year as well. Anuj Rawat, a domestic regular but only two-match old in IPL, will likely be asked to bear the responsibility of partnering du Plessis. In the middle-order, Mahipal Lomoror or Suyash Parbhudesai will need to take the pressure off Maxwell and Karthik.

Bowling

They have ample options in pace department. Mohammed Siraj, one of RCB’s three retentions, will have the new-ball responsibilities along with Josh Hazlewood. They also have Jason Behrendorff and David Willey, in case a left-armer is required. Harshal Patel, last year’s highest wicket-taker with 32 scalps and one of the costliest buys in this year’s auction, is going to be their death-overs specialist. In Siddharth Kaul and Chama Milind — both consistent performers in domestic cricket — RCB have experienced local Indian options.

Their spin department isn’t that versatile. Hasaranga will take over the spin-lead role from Yuzvendra Chahal. He is a deceptive, smart leg-spinner but in the limited opportunities last year, he couldn’t impress. RCB also have another leg spinner in Karn Sharma, in case they need to replace Hasaranga for non-performance or team balance. Shahbaz Ahmed was impressive with his left-arm spin last year and likely to be the second spinner this year. He is also a handy batter and can be used as a floater.

Potential Playing XI

1 Faf du Plessis (c), 2 Anuj Rawat, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 Mahipal Lomror/Suyash Prabhudesai, 6 Dinesh Karthik, 7 Wanindu Hasaranga, 8 Harshal Patel, 9 Shahbaz Ahmed, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Josh Hazlewood