Royal Challengers Bangalore

IPL 2023: Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) Best Strengths

A well-balanced team on paper, the core strength as we look at the best strengths and weakness analysis for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for IPL 2023.

Probably the strongest teams on paper, the Royal Challengers Bangalore haven’t had the kind of start they would have liked for IPL 2023. Having played 3 games so far, the team has already lost two matches in a row having started the tournament with a big win against the Mumbai Indians. 

So, what has gone wrong for RCB so far? Well, probably it has to do with the absence of key players, Rajat Patidar, Wanindu Hasaranga, and Josh Hazlewood. While Rajat is already ruled out of IPL 2023 due to injury, Josh Hazlewood is currently recovering from injury. Whereas Wanindu Hasaranga has just joined the team after serving the national team. 

The return of two key players should certainly boost the morale of the team, but again, that should not be the reason for the previous losses. The team does have a few gaps that are haunting the team in the tournament. So, with the team in hand, let’s look at the SWOT analysis of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for IPL 2023 with a focus on Strengths and Weaknesses predominantly. 

Royal Challengers Bangalore Updated Squad for IPL 2023:

Overseas:

Faf du Plessis (c&o), Finn Allen (o), David Willey (o), Glenn Maxwell (o), Michael Bracewell (o), Wayne Parnell (o), Wanindu Hasaranga (o), Josh Hazlewood (o),

Indian:

Mahipal Lomror, Suyash Prabhudessai, Virat Kohli, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik, Manoj Bhandage, Shahbaz Ahmed, Sonu Yadav, Akash Deep, Avinash Singh, Harshal Patel, Himanshu Sharma, Karn Sharma, Mohammed Siraj, Rajan Kumar, Siddharth Kaul & Vyshak Vijaykumar

Strengths:

#1: Top Notch Top order  

When you have Faf du Plessis, Virat Kohli, and Glenn Maxwell in your top order, you are looking at one of the strongest top orders of the competition. What’s even better about this setup is that all three are in scintillating form just like the good old days of Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli, and Ab de Villiers. If one of these three can play well in every match, RCB can overcome their fragile middle-order issues. 

#2: World-class Pace Bowling

The current RCB setup has three World class pace bowlers in the form of Josh Hazlewood, Mohammed Siraj, and Harshal Patel. Of the three Mohammed Siraj is looking in excellent form. Whereas Josh Hazlewood is undoubtedly the number 1 T20 pacer in the World. Harshal’s form may be a worry, but it is all about giving confidence to Harshal on the field. The only team that comes close to this pace bowling trio is Punjab Kings. 

#3: Well-balanced Playing 11

If we observe the current strongest playing 11 for RCB, the impact player rule has kind of made their playing 11 a bit stronger. They have strong top-order, brilliant finishers in the form of Karthik, Shahaz, and Hasaranga. A good spin trio of Hasaranga, Shahbaz, and Karn Sharma, and a good pace combination of Hazlewood, Harshal, Siraj, and Akash Deep.

Weaknesses:

#1: Fragile Middle-order 

If we observe the current squad of RCB for IPL 2023, we see two of Manipal Lomror, Suyash Prabhudessai, and Anuj Rawat making it to the starting 11. That means, except for a top-notch top-order, the middle order seems compromised with inexperience. Rajat Patidar did solve this problem, but with him not there, inexperience seems inevitable for RCB.

#2: Lack of Fast Bowling All-rounder 

If we observe the current squad of Royal Challengers Bangalore, it is filled with four spin-bowling all-rounders, Glenn Maxwell, Wanindu Hasaranga, Michael Bracewell, and Shahbaz Ahmed. While these four can come in handy on some of the away pitches, they may not come well at Bengaluru. The result is that RCB have to play an additional fourth to fill this gap; thus compromising the batting. 

Best Playing 11 for Royal Challengers Bangalore for IPL 2023

IPL 2023 – Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) Best Playing 11 while Batting First

Faf du Plessis [c], Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Mahipal Lomror, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik [wk], Shahbaz Ahmed, Harshal Patel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Josh Hazlewood & Mohammed Siraj

IPL 2023 – Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) Best Playing 11 while Bowling First

Faf du Plessis [c], Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Mahipal Lomror, Dinesh Karthik [wk], Shahbaz Ahmed, Harshal Patel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Josh Hazlewood, Mohammed Siraj & Karn Sharma

So, that’s about the SWOT analysis of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for IPL 2023. Overall, the return of Hazlewood and Hasaranga should boost the RCB squad, and they should be back to winning ways. RCB have a really good squad on paper, and it is only a matter of time before they are back. 

Thanks for reading! What’s your take on the strengths and weaknesses of RCB for IPL 2023? Please email your thoughts to cric8fanatic@gmail.com


ALSO READ: IPL 2023: All 10 Teams Latest Updated Squad and Players List


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Adesh Kothari

Adesh is an author at Cric8fanatic with over 20 years of experience following Cricket. Cricket to him is like what 'Football is to Lionel Messi', 'Singing is to Lata Mangeshkar', 'Dancing is to Michael Jackson', and what 'Acting is to Clint Eastwood'. Besides his effervescent love for Cricket, Adesh is an MBA by qualification.

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