File image of RCB skipper Virat Kohli
Royal Challengers Bangalore on Saturday announced their schedule for the impending 13th season of the Indian Premier League. They will begin their campaign against two-time champion Kolkata Knight Riders on March 31 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
The Virat Kohli-led side will play 14 league matches this season and wiull play their final tie against Mumbai Indians on May 17 at home.
South African pacer Dale Steyn returned, while Aussie white-ball captain Aaron Finch and South Africa’s Chris Morris has been roped in as RCB pocketed as many as eight players last December in Kolkata in the player's auction. RCB left the venue with INR 6.40 in their purse having spent 21.5 crores.
For the impending season, RCB also revamped their sporting management having parted ways with Gary Kirsten and Ashish Nehra to make way for former New Zealand coach Mike Hesson as the director of operations and Simon Katich as the head coach.
Earlier on Friday, the franchise also unveiled its new logo which features a lion and"embodies the bold and fearless attitude" of the side. Speaking on the launch of the new logo, Sanjeev Churiwala, Chairman of Royal Challengers Bangalore, said, "The elements in the logo is a commitment to continuously entertain and engage with fans who are the force behind Royal Challengers Bangalore. We believe a change in identity for the club was necessary to effectively live and breathe this vision and celebrate the passion for cricket and playing bold."
FULL SQUAD: Virat Kohli, Moeen Ali, Yuzvendra Chahal, Parthiv Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Pawan Negi, Devdutt Padikkal, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Washington Sundar, Shivam Dube, Navdeep Saini, AB de Villiers, Aaron Finch, Dale Steyn, Shabaz Nadeem, Kane Richardson, Joshua Philippe, Pavan Deshpande, Chris Morris, Isuru Udana
