"Never Had A Team As Strong As Mumbai Indians": Ex-Star On Royal Challengers Bangalore's Winless Indian Premier League Streak
RCB have played three finals under different captains but an IPL title has eluded the franchise.
New season, same optimism. Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will look to go all the way this time around when the new season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) kicks off. The tournament is expected to begin in the final week of March, following the conclusion of the Women's Premier League (WPL). Over the past two seasons, only a handful to teams have failed to win the IPL title, with RCB being one of them. RCB have played three finals under different captains (Anil Kumble in 2009, Daniel Vettori in 2011 and Virat Kohli in 2016) but an IPL title has eluded the franchise.
In 2009, Deccan Chargers (now defunct) defeated RCB in the final in South Africa. A couple years later, Chennai Super Kings made it back to back IPL wins after beating Vettori's RCB.
RCB's last final appearance came back in 2016 when they lost to SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the final, despite Virat Kohli ending the season with a record 973 runs, the most in a single season till date.
On the franchise's winless streak in IPL, former RCB and New Zealand all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme has given the reason behind the same.
De Grandhomme, who played for RCB in 2018 and 2019, feels RCB have never had a team as strong as Mumbai Indians, who have won a joint-record five titles.
He further explained that RCB has always been a team reliant on a couple of individuals.
"RCB have never had a team as strong as Mumbai Indians where the all-round composition of the team has been excellent. RCB have a very good side, but over-dependence on two, or three players has never worked their way, which is why they have never stood out as a well-balanced side," said De Grandhomme in an exclusive interview to Times of India.
RCB have made some additions to their squad for the upcoming season.
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) IPL 2024 squad: Faf du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik, Suyash Prabhudessai, Will Jacks, Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma, Manoj Bhandage, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma, Rajan Kumar, Mayank Dagar (traded from SRH), Cameron Green (traded from MI), Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Tom Curran, Lockie Ferguson, Swapnil Singh, Saurav Chuahan.
Mumbai Indians
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Colin de Grandhomme