For all the pedigree and ability in their camp, Royal Challengers Bangalore has never lived up to its billing in the Indian Premier League. They have a number of match-winners in the side, including the likes of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers, but RCB has only underperformed in almost all the seasons.
England all-rounder Moeen Ali, who is one of the two foreign players to have been retained for next season, believes RCB needs to have a good start in IPL 2020 in order to get some momentum and make it to the playoffs. He also believes that the side cannot solely be dependent on Kohli and de Villiers to step up and win games.
Moeen speaks about the challenges
"We need a good start. I think we always start slowly. We need to be brave, especially at home because the wicket in Bengaluru is very good. The boundaries are small over there and it's very daunting for the bowlers," Moeen told IANS on the sidelines of the ongoing Abu Dhabi T10 league.
"We cannot keep relying on Virat and AB de Villiers to win us games. Batters like myself and whomsoever is coming in, have to step up and bat well," the all-rounder added.
Ahead of the next season, RCB has released the names of as many as 12 players, including mid-season replacement Dale Steyn for IPL 2020. IPL auctions are set to take place on December 19 in Kolkata.
RCB Squad: Virat Kohli, Moeen Ali, Yuzvendra Chahal, AB de Villiers, Parthiv Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Pawan Negi, Umesh Yadav, Gurkeerat Mann, Devdutt Padikkal, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Navdeep Saini.
Players released before auctions: Marcus Stoinis, Shimron Hetymer, Akshdeep Nath, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Colin de Grandhomme, Prayas Barman, Tim Southee, Kulwant Khejroliya, Himmat Singh, Heinrich Klaasen, Milind Kumar and Dale Steyn
Former Kings XI Punjab and New Zealand coach Mike Hesson has been appointed as Director Cricket Operations for Royal Challengers Bangalore. Simon Katich joins Hesson as the head coach. The franchise has decided to part ways with Gary Kirsten and Ashish Nehra.
"This is just a chance to look at some talent. Obviously, there is some in the catchment areas of Karnataka. It's about gathering information. The more talent we spot the better. In all areas of the game, India has a huge talent pool. It's really about maximising the talent and that's what our job is as coaches," Hesson said after his appointment.
