The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) – a franchise cricket team that plays in the Indian Premier League (IPL) has always been strong in terms of batting and fielding, thanks to the star players like Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. However, the bowling unit of RCB has been in question each year of the tournament.
In fact, RCB has had a history of letting go of some of the most iconic T20 players. Namely, KL Rahul, Chris Gayle, and Shane Watson are the few big names, who have come back to haunt Kohli’s side with outstanding performances. In the past, RCB has failed to defend big totals, and the biggest reason behind it is that they don’t really focus on buying quality bowlers during the auctions.
Though in the form of Yuzvendra Chahal, RCB has found an impactful leg-spinner who has the ability to produce wickets under any situation. But what RCB lacks is world-class seamer. Talking about such weakness, senior Indian wicket-keeper batsman Parthiv Patel recalled an incident where he advised Kohli to have Jasprit Bumrah in their ranks. It was much before the Ahemdabad-born paceman was roped in by Mumbai Indians (MI).
“I told Virat that this is the guy, we should be picking him! But obviously, Mumbai Indians outwitted RCB, and he went to Mumbai Indians,” Parthiv Patel was quoted as saying by Fancode.
The Mumbai management somehow saw the genius in the making and bought Bumrah early in his career, who then went on to become one of the finest bowlers in the league. In a career spanning over 77 matches, Bumrah has taken 82 wickets at an economy of 7.55. He has also cemented his place in the Indian team with his consistent performances for the Mumbai-based team.
It was only a few days back when Rohit Sharma engaged in a conversation with David Warner, speaking of planning involved before matches against RCB. During the conversation, Rohit had made a big revelation regarding the planning the Mumbai think tank does ahead of a match against RCB.
“I don’t know about that (whether RCB will IPL 2020). We sit and plan for RCB more than any team. Their batting line-up is unreal. To have that batting line-up… our team meeting goes on for a couple of hours when we play against them,” Rohit Sharma had said.
