IPL 2018: 5 Players RCB should pick next season

The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) had a rather forgettable campaign in the Indian Premier League (IPL). They lost games initially and that pushed them down the points table. They won matches in between, but couldn’t hold on to the momentum. In the last four encounters, they were required to win all their contests in order to progress to the subsequent rounds. They won three, but couldn’t defeat Rajasthan Royals (RR) and crashed out of the tournament. They chopped and changed throughout the event and strained throughout to find the right combination. RCB tended to depend way too much on their booming batting lineup and looked devoid of the killer instinct in the bowling. In our article, we take a look at the players they should look for next year. #1 Kesrick Williams Kesrick Williams. (Photo by Randy Brooks – CPL T20 via Getty Images) Kesrick Williams remained unsold in the IPL 2018 action, despite having a stupendous 2017 with the ball. In that year, Williams notched 18 wickets in 10 T20Is, which was more than the likes of Rashid Khan’s tally of 17 wickets in as many encounters. He was also the leading wicket-taker for the Jamaica Tallawahs in last year’s Caribbean Premier League (CPL). The 28-year-old cricketer played 14 T20Is for the Windies and already has 22 wickets to his name, which also includes the wicket of Virat Kohli during India’s tour of the nation in July last year. Barring T20Is, he also has 46 wickets in 38 matches with best figures of 4/11. RCB’s bowling has been a major issue over the past few years and Williams’ inclusion may work wonders for them. #2 Thisara Perera Thisara Perera. (Photo Source: Twitter) Thisara Perera is one of Sri Lanka’s most explosive openers in international cricket. On many occasions, he has bailed his team out of jail. He entered the auction of this season’s IPL at a base price of INR 50 lakhs but found no bidders. The Colombo-born cricketer has previously been a part of the event with an experience of 37 matches for six teams. He has 214 wickets in 236 games to go with 2782 runs in T20s. Most importantly, he scored the runs at a strike-rate of 145 and which is why he is regarded as one of the most brutal batsmen, especially in the death overs. Apart from the IPL, he has also played in the CPL as well as the Big Bash League. RCB needs a genuine all-rounder and Perera is definitely not a bad option. #3 Luke Ronchi Luke Ronchi. (Photo Source: Getty Images) Luke Ronchi is 37 years old, but age hasn’t had an effect on his belligerent style of stroke-play. He didn’t get enough chances in the New Zealand team, however, his career has turned out after retiring. He was listed at the base price of 75 lakhs and remained unsold. The veteran was in prime form in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). He plundered 435 runs in 11 matches and was on top of his game. The wicketkeeper-batsman also got the runs at a strike-rate of 182 and an average of 43.50. He also had five fifties and hence, consistency was never an issue for Ronchi. Quinton de Kock wasn’t up to scratch for RCB and the player can be an appropriate replacement for the team led by Virat Kohli. #4 Rajneesh Gurbani Rajneesh Gurbani. (Photo Source: Twitter) Rajneesh Gurbani was one of the star bowlers in the 2017-18 Ranji Trophy. He picked up 39 wickets in six matches and was the highest wicket-taker in the tournament. The Nagpur-born cricketer was one of the reasons why Vidarbha was able to win their maiden championship in the history of the tournament. He also became the second bowler to pick a hat-trick in the final of Ranji. Bearing in mind his superlative performances, he was expected to find a deal in the prestigious IPL. However, that wasn’t the case and he found no buyers even after being listed at a base price of INR 20 lakhs. RCB has Umesh Yadav as their Indian pacer and Gurbani’s inclusion will strengthen their bowling to a large extent. #5 Tabraiz Shamsi Tabraiz Shamsi. (Photo By Ashley Allen/Sportsfile via Getty Images) Tabraiz Shamsi played a few matches for RCB in 2016 but didn’t get enough opportunities to prove his worth. Subsequently, he was released from the franchise. The Chinaman bowler was in tremendous form in the 2017-18 Ram Slam T20 tournament. He played for the Titans and mustered 16 wickets for them in 11 games. He was also the leading wicket-taker in the event. He bowled with an economy of 7, which is stupendous in a format where batsmen treat bowlers with utter disdain. He was listed in the IPL auction at a base price of INR 50 lakh, which isn’t hefty by any means. Nevertheless, he went unsold. RCB has lacked penetration in their bowling and bringing back Shamsi may just do the trick for them. For all the latest cricket news and other updates follow CricTracker.

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IPL 2018: 5 Players RCB should pick next season

These five players can change the fortunes of RCB in the next edition of IPL.

#4 Rajneesh Gurbani

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