IPL 2019: Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) New Team Rating

RCB have a good squad as they get a team rating of 8.35 for IPL 2019. But, can they finally win their maiden IPL trophy this year?

Royal Challengers Bangalore are a team that generates huge hype before every IPL, but always end up disappointing their fans. In IPL 2018 too, they had a superb squad, but all went in vain as they finished their campaign in the sixth position.  

Coming to IPL 2019, we analyzed Royal Challengers Bangalore’s strengths and weaknesses for IPL 2019 in our previous article. Don’t forget to check that out.

In this article, we will be focusing on rating the Royal Challengers Bangalore IPL 2019 squad in different categories, viz., Openers, Middle-order, All-rounders, Spinners, Pacers and Key backups in each category.

Please Note:

• We feel a perfect team combination would consist of two openers, three middle-order batsmen, one batting all-rounder, one bowling all-rounder, two spinners, two pacers and good backups in each category.
• Each category would have a maximum rating of 10 with a rating of 8 for key players and 2 for backups.

Right then, let’s look at the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) team rating for IPL 2019.

OPENERS:

Benchmark: David Warner (SRH)

Two Main Openers for RCB: Parthiv Patel and Shimron Hetmyer

Good Backup Openers: Henrich Klassen and Virat Kohli

Decent Backup Openers: Devdutt Padikkal

Royal Challengers Bangalore have Parthiv Patel opening the batting with either of Virat Kohli or Shimron Hetmyer.

Parthiv Patel is a decent opener. In IPL 2018, he did a decent job scoring 153 runs from 6 innings at an average of 30.6 and a strike rate of 140.36. He may not be an explosive batsman, but he gets his job done.

Parthiv Patel gets a rating of 2.75 out of 4.

Shimron Hetmyer, on the other hand, would be having his debut IPL season. The man has been a talking point due to his hitting capabilities, and would certainly be the man to watch out for.

For his potential and hitting abilities, Shimron Hetmyer gets a rating of 3.25 out of 4.

Coming to the backups, RCB have Henrich Klassen and Virat Kohli himself as the good backup options. While they have Devdutt Padikkal as the only decent backup option.

RCB get a rating of 1.75 out of 2 for the backup opening options.     

Overall, Royal Challengers Bangalore Openers Rating: 7.75/10

MIDDLE-ORDER:

Benchmark: Virat Kohli (RCB) and AB de Villiers (RCB)

Three Solid Middle-order Players for RCB: Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, and Shivam Dube

Good Backups: Gurkeerat Singh and Shimron Hetmyer

Decent Backups: Himmat Singh

RCB have IPL’s most destructive pair in the form of AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli.

Over the years, RCB have relied heavily on these two batsmen, and they have never disappointed as they have scored in almost every IPL tournament. The best thing about this duo is the consistency at which these two score. 

Virat Kohli didn’t have a good IPL 2018 as per his standards. Even then, he made a total of 530 runs from 14 innings at an average of 48.18 and a strike rate of 139.10. Such is his impact on the game that even 500 runs look less as per his standards.

AB De Villiers had a fabulous IPL last season. He played only 11 innings, but still managed to score a total of 480 runs at an average of 53.33 and a strike rate of 174.54.

For being the benchmark, both get a rating of 3 out of 3.

Coming to Shivam Dube, a lot of has been said about this talented attacking batsman from Mumbai. He would certainly be the player to watch out for in the upcoming IPL.

For his potential and attacking instinct, Shivam Dube gets a rating of 1.5 out of 2.

Coming to the backups, RCB have very limited options. The only good option they have is Gurkeerat Singh while the only decent option they have is Himmat Singh.     

Thus, RCB get a rating of 1.5 out of 2 for middle-order backup options.

Overall, Royal Challengers Bangalore Middle-order Rating: 9/10

ALL-ROUNDERS:

Benchmark: Andre Russel (KKR) as the batting all-rounder and Sunil Narine (KKR) as the bowling all-rounder 

Batting All-rounder for RCB: Marcus Stoinis

Bowling All-rounder for RCB: Washington Sundar

Batting All-rounder Backups: Colin de Grandhomme, Shivam Dube, Akshdeep Nath, Milind Kumar and Prayas Barman

Bowling All-rounder Backups: Moeen Ali and Pawan Negi

RCB is a side full of all-rounders; the most any side has. While they are high on quantity, the same thing cannot be said about their quality.

Marcus Stoinis has been in red hot form recently for Australia. However, In IPL 2018, he didn’t perform well as he managed only 99 runs from 7 innings and accounted for 3 wickets. However, he has the potential to break through as he has done in previous IPLs.

Hence, Marcus Stoinis gets a rating of 3.25 out of 4.

Washington Sundar is a good bowler, and was even drafted into the Indian side based on his bowling performance in IPL 2017. However, In IPL 2018, he took only 4 wickets from 7 innings at an average of 48 and an economy rate of 9.6. As a batsman too, he could manage only 65 runs overall. While the potential Is there, it needs to be converted into performance.

Hence, Washington Sundar gets a rating of 3 out of 4.

Coming to the backups, RCB have plenty of options to look at.  Hence, not focusing much in this area, RCB get a rating of 2 out of 2 for all-rounder backup options.   

Overall, Royal Challengers Bangalore All-rounders Rating: 8.25/10

SPINNERS:

Benchmark: Rashid Khan (SRH)

Two Main Spinners for RCB: Yuzvendra Chahal and Washington Sundar

Good Backup Spinners: Moeen Ali and Pawan Negi

Decent Backup Spinners: Milind Kumar and Prayas Barman

Yuzvendra Chahal has been leading the spin department for RCB for quite a sometime now. In IPL 2018, Chahal managed to take 12 wickets from 14 innings at an average of 30.25 and an economy rate of 7.26. While the numbers aren’t that impressive, he has been really good in the previous IPL editions.

Hence, Yuzvendra Chahal gets a rating of 3.5 out of 4.

Washington Sundar may have had a poor IPL 2018, but Virat Kohli needs to give him a consistent run as he certainly has the potential, and has proved it in the past.

Washington Sundar gets a rating of 3 out of 4.

Coming to the backups, RCB have Moeen Ali and Pawan Negi as good backups while they have Milind Kumar and Prayas Barman as decent backups. Nothing to debate here as RCB get a rating of 2 out of 2 for spin bowling backups.

Overall, Royal Challengers Bangalore Spinners Rating: 8.5/10

PACERS:

Benchmark: Jasprit Bumrah (MI)

Two Main Pacers for RCB: Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Siraj

Good Backup Pacers: Nathan Coulter-Nile and Tim Southee

Decent Backup Pacers: Navdeep Saini and Kulwant Khejroliya

RCB have two good Indian pace bowlers in the form of Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Siraj and some fantastic backup options.

Umesh Yadav had a superb IPL 2018 as he took a total of 20 wickets from 14 innings at an average of 20.9 and an economy rate of 7.86. He was Kohli’s go-to man in the powerplay. However, apart from IPL, Umesh didn’t do well in the international arena.

Hence, Umesh Yadav gets a rating of 3.25 out of 4.

Mohammed Siraj, on the other hand, had a decent IPL 2018. He played 11 matches in which he took 11 wickets at an average of 33.36 and an economy rate of 8.95. He certainly has the potential to perform better.

Mohammed Siraj gets a rating of 3 out of 4.

RCB have superb backups in the form of Nathan Coulter Nile and Tim Southee. The duo can any day get into the playing XI depending on the overseas combination. RCB also have Navdeep Saini and Kulwant Khejroliya as decent backup options.

Hence, RCB get a rating of 2 out 2 for pace bowling backup options.  

Overall, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) Pacers Rating for IPL 2019: 8.25/10

CONCLUSION:

Royal Challengers Bangalore like always have a perfect squad. Their strengths are their middle-order, all-rounders and spinners. If RCB can get their combinations right, Virat Kohli led RCB can definitely eye their maiden IPL title.

Assuming all players are available, an ideal Playing XI for Royal Challengers Bangalore would be:

Parthiv Patel, Shimron Hetmyer, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Shivam Dube, Marcus Stoinis, Colin de Grandhomme, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Umesh Yadav and Mohammad Siraj.

Overall, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) get a team rating of 8.35/10 for IPL 2019.

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