New Delhi, Apr 2: In every edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) always looked like the team to beat -- but they failed to deliver every time. This time around also, they are one of the most promising sides.
RCB have a balanced side and will look to avoid their over-reliance on foreign recruits like Chris Gayle, Tillakaratne Dilshan and A.B. de Villiers.
The team management have made some intelligent purchases this season by getting West Indians Christopher Barnwell and Ravi Rampaul, Australian all-rounders Moises Henriques and Dan Christian, and Indian pacers Jaydev Unadkat and Rudra Pratap Singh, who was the highest wicket-taker in the second season.
Henriques did fairly well for Australia during the Test series against India and can be a match winner for the Challengers.
The Bangalore-based team have a young leader in Virat Kohli, who is also tipped to be the next India skipper. Kohli's aggression can help the team get the better of their opposition.
One cricketer, who will be interesting to watch will be the veteran Muttiah Muralitharan, the highest wicket-taker in international cricket. The off-spinner, who turns 41 on April 17, has to prove that he still has it in him to fight it out against the youngsters.
New recruits: Christopher Barnwell, Ravi Rampaul, Moises Henriques, Dan Christian, Jaydev Unadkat and Rudra Pratap Singh.
Players to watch out for: Virat Kohli, Mayank Aggarwal, Moises Henriques and Dan Christian.
The squad: Virat Kohli (Captain), Cheteshwar Pujara, Mayank Agarwal, Saurabh Tiwary, Sunny Sohal, Abhinav Mukund, Chris Gayle, Christopher Barnwell, Karun Nair, Vijay Zol, Andrew McDonald, Daniel Vettori, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Moises Henriques, Daniel Christian, Christopher Barnwell, Arun Karthik, A.B. de Villiers, Sheldon Jackson, Harshal Patel, K.P. Appanna, Vinay Kumar, Syed Mohammed, P. Parameswaran, Abhimanyu Mithun, Zaheer Khan, Sreenath Aravind, Sandeep Warrier, Jaydev Unadkat, Pankaj Singh, R.P. Singh, Murali Karthik, Ravi Rampaul.
