IPL 2020: 3 RCB players who deserve more opportunities

A disappointing 2019 IPL campaign saw Royal Challengers Bangalore finish last among eight franchises with just five wins in fourteen league matches. The three-time runner-up released as many as 12 players from its 2019 IPL squad ahead of the 2020 IPL auction held at Kolkata on December 19^th. Despite releasing big guns like Shimron Hetmyer, Marcus Stonis and Colin de Grandhomme, the Virat Kohli-led side has assembled a strong unit by recruiting quality players like Aaron Finch, Chris Morris, Joshua Philippe and Isuru Udana.

With Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Moeen Ali and Navdeep Saini already in their ranks, the squad looks balanced and formidable. They have got some serious Indian talents in their squad who are very unfortunate to have got less or in fact no opportunities so far. It is fair to say that these talented Indian players were under-utilized by Virat Kohli’s men in the previous edition(s).

On that note, let us look at three Indian players who deserve more opportunities at RCB this season given their potential to excel at a grand stage like IPL:

1. Devdutt Padikkal

Despite recognizing his talent and signing him at his base price of INR 20 lakh at 2019 IPL auction, RCB did not provide Padikkal with an opportunity to don the jersey throughout season twelve. The 19-year-old opener has been sensational for Karnataka in the domestic tournaments, contributing heavily across formats.

The teenager who made his List A debut during Karnataka’s victorious 2019-20 Vijay Hazare Trophy campaign finished the tournament as the highest run-getter with 609 runs that include five half-centuries and two centuries.

Most importantly, he followed it up in his T20 cricket debut tournament as well (2019-20 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy) by emerging as the highest run-getter having amassed 580 runs five half-centuries and a century- once again in his side’s victorious campaign.

Currently plying his trade in 2019-20 Ranji Trophy, the teenager is replicating his excellent run in First-class cricket with his consistent batting (half-centuries in all five matches he has played so far). Given the kind of form he is in, RCB must make young Padikkal a mainstay in the XI so that he could provide them with the electrifying starts at the top-of-the-order and lay a perfect foundation for their ruthless middle order to take over.