Ee sala cup namda?

Mohammed Rumman Khan | NT

The spotlight will remain on Virat Kohli when he takes to the field in Royal Challengers Bangalore’s IPL-15 opener against Mayank’s Agarwal’s Punjab Kings at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai Stadium on Sunday.

It will be the first time Kohli will not be leading RCB in nearly a decade, turning out only as a player instead. He will certainly be a free bird and fans may get to see the Kohli of 2016 when the team emerged runners-up with the skipper amassing over 900 runs studded with four centuries.

Skipper Faf du Plessis is a proven performer and will undoubtedly strengthen the top-order batting. He has led his national team and won plenty of praise.

Kohli and Du Plessis give solidity at the top. Maxwell will be ideal at 2-down and take up the role of spin hitter, which he does with aplomb, with Rawat and Lomror on either side of him. It’s vital to see how Maxwell approaches every inning. There are times when his approach has been unbelievably fantastic and then there are times when it has been pretty pedestrian. RCB fans hope it will be the former this season. For the initial matches, RCB have to deal without the services of Glenn Maxwell and Josh Hazlewood who are on national duty.

For a change, this RCB side have a greater bowling balance, unlike the previous ones. Mohammed Siraj, Josh Hazlewood and Harshal Patel bring a unique dimension to the team’s seam attack.

Not to mention that they broke the banks for Sri Lankan Wanindu Hasaranga (Rs 10.75 crore), who was with the team last season but couldn’t make his presence felt. He is now a changed cricketer – for the good. He can contribute with the bat as well. But the spin department looks considerably weak with back-ups Shahbaz Ahmed and Karn Sharma, who don’t have much of a reputation.

For seasons now, Namma Team’s big strength in the batting death overs was AB de Villiers, and his absence is sure to be felt. Karthik needs to don the finishing role along with Hasaranga, every time! Some of the players are inexperienced but backing them definitely will bring a positive vibe to the dressing room.

It goes without saying that RCB will also miss Chahal and Padikkal. The team management says they have brought together a balanced bunch and have players who have multidimensional skill sets. Fans of RCB will not settle for anything less. For 14 long seasons, they have loyally been chanting, “Ee Sala Cup Namde” (this time the cup is ours). Hope the chant comes true this season.

RCB will lock horns with Mayank Agarwal’s Punjab Kings in their first match of the tournament on Saturday. Kohli cannot wait to set the ball rolling as he gears up for the match with “buzz and excitement”.“Heading into matchday weekend, all the buzz and excitement of IPL (are) in the air. Love this anticipation and butterflies in the stomach before the tournament starts,” Kohli wrote on Twitter.

RCB’s best performance under Kohli’s captaincy was in 2016 when the team emerged runners-up with the skipper amassing over 900 runs with four centuries, exactly the kind of season the 33-year-old will look forward to.

For PBKS, the absence of Rabada in their bowling attack is sure to be felt. They will hope that the backup players will deliver against the strong RCB batting unit. There will also be a lot of focus on the explosive Shahrukh Khan who was bought back in the auction for a whopping Rs 9 crore for his excellent season at domestic cricket across formats. In the batting department, the team has some experience at the top order – Shikhar Dhawan and Mayank are seasoned openers, followed by Liam Livingstone and Bairstow. Shahrukh, Odean Smith and Raj Bawa are sure to provide some firepower at the end.