Royal Challengers Bangalore In IPL 2023: Preview, Strongest XI, Schedule – All You Need To Know | Cricket News



The 16th edition of Indian Premier League will kick-start from Friday with defending champions Gujarat Titans taking on four-time winners Chennai Super Kings, at the Narendra Modi Stadium. With new season, Royal Challengers Bangalore will be in search of their first-ever title, as they take on Mumbai Indians in the opening match. The Faf du Plessis-led side had a decent outing in the previous season, where they won eight out of 14 matches. RCB entered the playoffs and defeated Lucknow Super Giants by 14 runs in the Eliminator. However, their happiness could not last long as they faced a seven-wicket defeat against Rajasthan Royals in Qualifier 2 and lost another big opportunity of claiming the coveted trophy.

The major strength of RCB in the previous season was their skipper du Plessis, who smashed a whopping total of 468 runs in 16 matches, laced with three half-centuries and a highest score of 96. Apart from him, Sri Lanka spinner Wanindu Hasaranga turned out to be the biggest positive for the Bengaluru-based franchise as he scalped 26 wickets, including a five-wicket haul and became the second-highest wickettaker of the season.

As IPL 2023 has brought back the concept of home and away matches, the return of RCB to their home ground at M Chinnaswamy stadium will also be a big plus point for their former skipper Virat Kohli, who battled through his lean patch last year, and is currently in a lethal form.

However, there are some injury concerns that can be a big issue for RCB. Some reports have predicted that young batter Rajat Patidar is likely to miss the first half of the season due to a heel injury. He is currently undergoing rehab at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru and has been advised to take rest for three weeks following which an MRI scan will determine his participation in the second half of the league.

His absence could cause RCB to rethink on their batting combination. With Patidar in the mix, RCB Director of Cricket Mike Hesson had said after the IPL auction last year in December that Virat Kohli would continue opening with skipper Faf Du Plessis. The injury now means that Kohli could bat at number three, with either young New Zealand talent Finn Allen or uncapped Indian wicketkeeper-batter Anuj Rawat likely to serve Du Plessis as his opening partner.

Patidar’s availability is not the only thing concerning RCB. There are doubts over pacer Josh Hazlewood‘s status for the tournament as he is currently recovering from Achilles tendonitis.

Full schedule:

Match 1: April 2, 2023 – Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Mumbai Indians, Bengaluru (7:30PM IST)

Match 2: April 6, 2023 – Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kolkata (7:30PM IST)

Match 3: April 10, 2023 – Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Lucknow Super Giants, Bengaluru (3:30PM IST)

Match 4: April 15, 2023 – Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Delhi Capitals, Bengaluru (3:30PM IST)

Match 5: April 17, 2023 – Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Chennai Super Kings, Bengaluru (7:30PM IST)

Match 6: April 20, 2023 – Punjab Kings vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, Mohali (3:30PM IST)

Match 7: April 23, 2023 – Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Rajasthan Royals, Bengaluru (3:30PM IST)

Match 8: April 26, 2023 – Royal Challengrs Bangalore vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Bengaluru (7:30PM IST)

Match 9: May 1, 2023 – Lucknow Super Giants vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, Lucknow (7:30PM IST)

Match 10: May 6, 2023 – Delhi Capitals vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi (7:30PM IST)

Match 11: May 9, 2023 – Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, Mumbai (7:30PM IST)

Match 12: May 14, 2023 – Rajasthan Royals vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, Jaipur (3:30PM IST)

Match 13: May 18, 2023 – Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, Hyderabad (7:30PM IST)

Match 14: May 21, 2023 – Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Gujarat Titans, Bengaluru (7:30PM IST)

Strongest XI:

Faf du Plessis (c), Virat Kohli, Suyash Prabhudessai, Anuj Rawat, Glenn Maxwell, Dinesh Karthik, Finn Allen, Wanindu Hasaranga, Shahbaz Ahmed, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj

Full Squad:

Faf du Plessis (c), Finn Allen, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Suyash Prabhudessai, Will Jacks, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik, Wanindu Hasaranga, Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Maxwell, Shahbaz Ahmed, Sonu Yadav, Manoj Bhandage, Akash Deep, Josh Hazlewood, Siddarth Kaul, Mohammed Siraj, Harshal Patel, Karn Sharma, David Willey (ENG), Avinash Singh, Rajan Kumar, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma.

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