The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) is one of the most popular teams in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Despite the fact that the franchise has yet to win a trophy, it has a sizable following base. It’s because Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers are members of this team, which has a devoted following.
RCB has had a great season this time around, with perhaps their best start to any season, but things haven’t always been the same for them. Between the 2017 and 2019 editions, they didn’t even make the playoffs. One of the major reasons for their failures is their own team management.
Over the years, RCB has attracted some truly outstanding players. However, they were unable to give their all for RCB and went on to perform better for other franchises. We’ll take a look at some of the players that could have done better if RCB management had done a better job managing them.
5 Players Who Did Well In Other Franchise Leagues But Flopped In IPL:
1. Quinton De Kock
Quinton De Kock is presently a member of the Mumbai Indians and has been having a great time with the squad since being selected in the 2019 edition. In each of his two seasons with MI, he has scored in excess of 500 runs, with an excellent average of 35. In the last two seasons, he has struck nine half-centuries and has been one of MI’s greatest batsmen.
But, in the case of RCB, what went wrong? The reason for this is that RCB absolutely underutilised him. While MI put their faith in him and gave him a chance in each match, RCB left him out more frequently than not in the 2018 version, despite the fact that he was in good form. For RCB, he scored 201 runs at a 25-run average, which wasn’t awful at all.
RCB finished sixth on the points table in the 2018 edition, one of their lowest IPL seasons. They chose Parthiv Patel over De Kock, who was a solid performer but never a match-winner. It was a very questionable choice on the part of the Bangalore franchise to leave out a player of De Kock’s calibre.
2. Nathan Coulter-Nile
RCB has always been in desperate need of a good fast bowler. With a lot of match-winners on their side, RCB’s hitting has always been their strong suit. Bowling, on the other hand, is a major problem that they have never been able to entirely resolve.
In 2018, RCB purchased Nathan Coulter-Nile to make amends for their poor pace attack in prior seasons. Nathan, who had a strong season for KKR the year before, was a wise purchase. He was important in getting the entire RCB team out for an embarrassing 49 runs in one of Virat Kohli’s most humiliating defeats.
They didn’t play Nathan Coulter-Nile for a single game, as it turned out. He was cut from the team before ever making his debut. Could they have had more faith in him when he was recovering from his injuries? Definitely, given how desperately they needed a bowler with his expertise on the team.
3. KL Rahul
KL Rahul’s IPL career can be divided into two parts: his time with RCB and his time with Punjab Kings. By any measure, he never had a bad season with RCB. He was, in fact, doing an excellent job for the red and gold franchise.
However, he was not being used as an opener, which is his natural position. Despite a strong 2016 season for RCB, in which he scored 397 runs at an average of 44, he was not re-signed. He was eventually sent to Punjab Kings, where he was expected to play as an opener.
KL Rahul is a terrific batsman at the top of the order and has scored the most runs in each of the last four seasons. Given the number of troubles in their top order since 2018, RCB may be kicking themselves for not keeping him.
4. Shane Watson
Shane Watson may go unnoticed, but he is without a doubt one of the best all-rounders of the contemporary age. In the IPL, he had a fantastic run with both the bat and the ball. When he played for RCB, though, things didn’t go quite as planned.
He only appeared in a few games for the franchise and did not score a single 50. With 20 wickets in the 2016 edition of the IPL, he was their man with the golden arm. But, in the finals that year, he bowled the famed last over, which proved to be the difference between RCB’s win and loss.
He bowled like a champion, however, like KL Rahul, he was never batted in his natural position. He batted at the bottom of the order, where he couldn’t demonstrate his worth. Virat Kohli opened those seasons, and he was fantastic, but might he give Shane Watson a chance at around the top of the order? At this point, everything will be ifs and buts.
5. Adam Zampa
Adam Zampa is one of the top limited-overs spinners in the world right now. He has performed admirably for Australia and now leads the spin attack. Adam Zampa had a successful IPL career, becoming only the second bowler to record a six-wicket haul for RPS against SRH in 2016.
He’s just become better as a bowler over time. In the 2020 edition of the IPL, RCB had a good potential of deploying him as a partner for Chahal. However, they only chose to use him in three games.
He didn’t have a good time in the three games, taking only two wickets at an economy rate of over eight. However, there was always the possibility that he may run better on the UAE’s slower tracks. When you have a bowler with Adam Zampa’s ability on your team, you can’t just play him for two games and then bench him for the rest of the season.
