5 Players who can open for RCB in IPL 2020

The 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is just around the corner and promises to be an extremely exciting and a closely contested tournament. The teams have geared up for the tourney by filling the gaps in their squads. While some teams like Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have strengthened their pace bowling and all-rounder departments, others like Sunrisers Hyderabad have consolidated their middle order. The Bengaluru-based franchise would hope to end its title drought this year with a comprehensive squad and impressive bench-strength at their disposal.

During the previous edition of the IPL, apart from its fast bowling concerns, another problem plaguing the Bangalore Army was the lack of suitable opening options throughout the journey of the tournament. Parthiv patel and Virat Kohli were the regular openers for the team with Moeen Ali and Shimron Hetmyer trying their hands at starting the innings for a couple of games.

Despite their talent and excellent performances, albeit in bits, the combination never really took off as RCB earned the wooden spoon by finishing at the bottom of the points table. Ever since Chris Gayle left, RCB have struggled to get a regular and successful opening combination.

However, this may well be the year RCB’s fortunes change. The think-tank of the challengers has made sure that they have plenty of options to fill in that opening slot for this year. Their squad is an interesting blend of experienced campaigners as well as exciting new prospects.

Here we look at 5 players who can open for RCB in IPL 2020:

1. Aaron Finch

The Australian ODI and T20I captain is one of the best openers in limited overs formats across the globe. The 33-year-old batsman from Victoria has been pretty successful in most of his recent outings. He also holds the record of playing for the highest number of IPL franchises ever, RCB being his 8th team. Inclusion of the No. 3 ranked T20I batsman in the squad has added much needed firepower to the RCB batting department.

With a strike rate of 156.48 in T20Is at an average of 38.4, his credentials in the shortest format of the game need no introduction. Aaron Finch also holds the record of the highest individual score in T20Is, it being 172 from 76 balls which he scored against Zimbabwe. Finch’s returns in IPL have been mediocre, having scored 1737 runs in 73 innings at an average of just over 25. However, going by his current form, he has a strong case to make for his inclusion as a first choice opener in the RCB XI.

Finch has always been a match-winner and has the ability to turn the match on its head. Along with his batting exploits, his excellent and bold decision making may also work in his favour. The skipper Virat Kohli could benefit from the inputs given by the Australian captain. If Finch clicks at the top order, he may turn out to be Chris Gayle’s replacement RCB had been looking for.