Aakash Chopra picks his all-time RCB XI; excludes Dale Steyn and other stars

Royal Challengers Bangalore has been one franchise that has had success in the IPL but not as much as they would have liked. Over the years, the franchise has tried to do a lot of different things and also changed their squad a lot but have failed to get their hands on a trophy. But, it shouldn’t be so tough to make an all-time XI for the team right?Cricketer turned commentator Aakash Chopra sat back and tried to make one of his own. However, while picking the side, he faced a bit of difficulty.

The former Delhi batsman uploaded a YouTube video on this. In the video, he gave detailed reasoning on why he didn’t pick a few players. For openers spots, he went with Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli. Gayle has been quite sensational for the RCB side and had top-scored in the league in 2011 and 2012. The West Indian played seven seasons at the franchise. Kohli is the only player with which the franchise has stuck since the beginning of the league. Chopra also assigned him the captaincy of the side.

Aakash Chopra picks KL Rahul as wicketkeeper

Followed by this, KL Rahul made his way as the wicketkeeper-batsman, having played for the franchise in 2013 and 2016. AB de Villiers, who has been with the franchise since 2011, was the next batsman in. South African is not only one of the most successful RCB batsmen but also one of the top players who has played in the cash-rich league over the years.

Chopra then chose Robin Uthappa and Ross Taylor, both of whom were with the franchise in the initial years. Uthappa played for two seasons in 2009 and 2010, while Taylor was with the side for those two years along with 2008. Interestingly, Chopra couldn’t find a proper all-rounder to slot in at no. 7. Players like Jacques Kallis and Shane Watson have played for the franchise but were ignored by the former Indian Test opener.

He chose only one overseas pacer and that was Mitchell Starc. He also gave the reason why he couldn’t choose Dale Steyn, who had featured for the side in the first three seasons and later returned to the franchise in 2019.

“I wanted to have Dale Steyn and Mitchell Starc both in my line-up. However, I could only field four overseas players. I tried my best to look for an Indian middle-order batsman who has done well for the RCB side, but I couldn’t find one. This is why I had to include Ross Taylor,” said Aakash Chopra.

The ex-Delhi player selected former RCB skipper Anil Kumble and Yuzvendra Chahal as his two spinners in the side. From the lot of Indian pacers, he chose Zaheer Khan and R Vinay Kumar.

Aakash Chopra’s all-time RCB XI: Virat Kohli (C), Chris Gayle, KL Rahul (WK), AB de Villiers, Ross Taylor, Robin Uthappa, Mitchell Starc, Anil Kumble, Yuzvendra Chahal, R Vinay Kumar, Zaheer Khan