IPL 2019: Virat Kohli-led RCB backed to win this year's Indian Premier League

Royal Challengers Bangalore have the squad depth to go on to clinch their first IPL title later this year.

RCB's over-reliance on Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers hampered their performance in IPL 2018.IANS

Former England captain Michael Vaughan has backed Virat Kohli led Royal Challengers Bangalore to win this year's edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

The Challengers have gone to make several changes to their squad during the last auction. The Indian Premier League franchise from Bangalore has never won the domestic T20 tournament since it's inception in 2008. Michael Vaughan has still backed RCB to go on to win the IPL 2019.

"IPL soon ... @RCBTweets to win it this year me thinks ... Looking forward to working with @cricbuzz again ... #India #Mumbai," tweeted Michael Vaughan.

Royal Challengers Bangalore have the squad depth to go on to clinch their first IPL title later this year. They will kick start the new season with a clash against their South Indian rivals Chennai Super Kings in the opener of this season's IPL on 23 March in Chennai.

Meanwhile, KL Rahul has given out the details as to how Virat Kohli received him when he was picked up by RCB in 2016. From the last season, he is representing the Kings XI Punjab.

"The day when I went to sign my RCB contract papers is my next great memory. I thought it would just me signing the papers with some manager," Rahul told Red Bull, as reported by Times Now.

"But I remember I walked into the room and there was a full team meeting with the directors; Virat Kohli was also sitting there. I walked into the room like I was the coolest person there but suddenly I saw everyone and thought, "What have I walked into?" The contract is about 20-30 pages so it took me a while to go through it.

"After that Virat came to me, put an arm around my shoulder and said, 'Welcome to the team. We are going to have a blast.' That was a big moment for me and also the start of my first IPL season so I think of all the cricketers I played with then; Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers, Zaheer Khan, and everyone else. Just getting to hang out with all of them is what I remember fondly.

Royal Challengers Bangalore squad for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019: