IPL: 5 former RCB Players who shined for other franchises

RCB is one team out of all the IPL teams that has shown promise every season but ended up repeating the same slogan for the last 15 years – “Ee salaa cup namade” – without much glory. The main reason for that is the lack of faith shown by the management in the players. Every player wants the management and the captain to back them, especially when the going gets tough and RCB have just not been able to back the right players at the right time over the years. RCB always had those right “Match-winning” players in their squad, but ended up giving them a shorter rope or just floating them around in the batting order without giving them a consistent run to prove their mettle. The fact of the matter is that, the players who were dumped by RCB went on to win the IPL title with other franchises. We will look at five such players who were loaded with potential and raw talent, but RCB ended up losing the diamond while chasing glitter. 5 former RCB players who performed well for the other teams 1. KL Rahul KL Rahul. (Photo Source: Twitter) In the 2016 Season, RCB looked like the most balanced side of all the years and was one of the favorites to win the title. KL Rahul had an important role to play at RCB, reaching the finals along with AB & Virat Kohli. Having scored 397 runs in 12 innings at a brisk strike rate of 146.49, Rahul was definitely a potential talent coming up the ranks. While RCB retained Sarfaraz Khan over KL Rahul, the stylish batter left no stone unturned with his new franchise – Punjab, scoring 659 runs in 14 (IPL 2018) innings with an astonishing strike rate of 158 for someone who was predominantly known as a “Test” player. Rahul broke the shackles thereafter with Punjab by becoming the second-highest scorer in IPL in the 2019 edition with 593 runs, including a ton. Rahul continued his rich vein of form in 2020 too, winning the Orange Cap with 670 runs with one century and five 50s. RCB will certainly be rethinking its strategy of letting Rahul go, who also had the potential of captaining the side in future. 2. Quinton de Kock Quinton de Kock of Royal Challengers Bangalore in action. (Photo by IANS) The South African wicketkeeper-batter, De Kock was bought by RCB for just INR 2.8 crore in the 2018 mega auction. QDK had a brilliant 2016 edition, being the highest run-scorer for DC, scoring 445 runs at an average of 37, including a century against RCB itself. An injury scare ruled out Quinny from the 2017 IPL season and after being purchased by RCB in 2018, Quinton got just eight matches under his belt and was left dry by RCB. The Mumbai Indians capitalized on the situation by securing QDK’s services in 2019 and Quinton went on to score 529 runs in 16 innings with four 50s and became the third highest run-scorer in the 2019 edition overall. Quinton was not only the highest scorer for MI, but the quick-fire starts provided by Quinton were crucial in Mumbai winning the IPL Trophy in 2019. 3. Moeen Ali Moeen Ali. (Photo: IANS) RCB and their stories of not backing players are well-known. Another victim of not being backed by RCB management was Moeen Ali. The England all-rounder Moeen, after being left out by RCB, was shown faith and backed by the CSK management where he was given a longer run at the number three position. Ali was not just instrumental in scoring at a brisk rate, where he scored 357 runs in 15 innings (IPL 2021), but he was utilized by MSD as more of an all-rounder than just a batter. Ali picked up six crucial wickets with the best figures of 3/7. Moeen was another player on the list, who after being released by RCB, went to get his hands on the IPL trophy. 4. Shane Watson Shane Watson. (Photo Source: Twitter) The fiery Australian all-rounder who has always been a match-winner for whichever team he has played was roped in by RCB in search of their maiden IPL title. RCB trusted Shane with a full season in 2016, giving Watson 16 games to show his caliber. However, not giving longer ropes to the right players has always been a problem for RCB, and it was not different in Watson’s case either. After being an RCBian for two seasons, Watson was backed by Chennai Super Kings where he was the second-highest run-scorer for CSK in the 2018 season. He played a breathtaking knock of 117* in the finals against the Orange Army and brought back IPL glory to CSK in 2018. Watson almost helped CSK win their fifth title in 2019 with a marathon innings of 80(59) with a bleeding right knee on the night of the finals but fell short by just one run. 5. Yuzvendra Chahal Yuzvendra Chahal. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) None of the RCB fans would have ever imagined Chahal not being part of their franchise, and donning any other franchise’s jersey. But that has been the case with RCB for over 15 years now, where they have not shown faith in potential players and match winners. To many people’s surprise, Yuzvendra Chahal was not retained by RCB and was eventually picked by Rajasthan Royals in the 2022 mega auction for a price of just INR 6.50 crore. Chahal hasn’t disappointed the new franchise yet. He is the proud owner of the Purple Cap right now with 12 wickets at an economy of just 6.80 runs per over in the five games so far. Chahal, with his street smart leg-spin bowling, has given crucial breakthroughs to RR whenever the opposition team has been cruising towards a victory. Only time will tell, whether Chahal will also go on to win an IPL trophy for his new franchise after leaving RCB. But one thing is for sure, RCB will definitely be missing his services this season.

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