IPL 2020: Team-wise one batsman whose batting position can be changed

6) Royal Challengers Bangalore – Virat Kohli

The Royal Challengers Bangalore seem to be getting better and better with each outing. And that’s the reason, unlike the last two seasons, the Virat Kohli-led side are comfortably placed in the top half of the points table. They also have a golden opportunity to finish as one of the top two teams in the league stages, which will help them in having two cracks in the playoffs. Still, the team will need to iron out some flaws before the knockouts.

One of them is their batting approach in the powerplay. Apart from a couple of games, RCB haven’t gotten rollicking starts in the first six overs. Both Aaron Finch and Devdutt Padikkal have been unable to get going, and their strike rates of 114 and 122 verify the fact. These slow starts have put the team in a box, but the brilliance of AB de Villiers has masked the problem to an extent. Hence the team should make a bold move of promoting Virat Kohli at the expense of Finch in the upcoming games.

In his golden IPL season of 2016, Virat scored four centuries while opening the innings. His average also shoots to 49 from 38 as an opener. Interestingly, it might also turn to be fruitful for Finch as his numbers as a middle-order batsman in IPL are way better than his opening stats. Finch averages 32 when he bats at No.4 position, and his strike rate of 146 further validates the point. In all, RCB should take every possible step, which benefits them if they have to win their maiden championship.