The RCB has a long tradition of signing the world’s most talented batters. This can be seen in the IPL, where their squad included the legendary trio of AB de Villiers, Chris Gayle, and Virat Kohli. Although Gayle and de Villiers have now retired, Kohli still remains part of the club, joined by new teammates Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell. This trend can also be noticed in RCB’s Women’s Premier League team, built around stars such as Smriti Mandhana, Sophie Devine, Heather Knight, and Ellyse Perry. Despite Perry’s impressive form, RCB currently finds themselves at the bottom half of the WPL 2023 points table. Let’s look at these five instances when that was the case.
#1 Rahul Dravid in 2008
The RCB franchise struggled in its first season, playing 14 matches and winning only four of them. Despite the brave efforts of captain Rahul Dravid, who managed to put up 371 runs with his highest score being 75*. The team finished seventh in the standings above only the Deccan Chargers.
#2 AB de Villiers in 2014
AB de Villiers was the backbone of the Bangalore-based franchise of the Indian Premier League (IPL) for a decade. In IPL 2014, Mr. 360 was their highest run-scorer with 395 runs in 13 innings, including three half-centuries, with a strike rate of 158.63. However, RCB ultimately finished in seventh place that season.
#3 Virat Kohli in 2017
The 2017 season was the most disappointing one for RCB, as they finished at the bottom of the points table for the first time, winning only three of their fourteen matches. Virat Kohli stood out, scoring 308 runs in 10 innings and four half-centuries.
#4 Virat Kohli in 2018
Once again, Virat Kohli makes the list. In 2018 and 2019, the IPL, the batting duo of Kohli and de Villiers shouldered their whole team to success. In particular, Kohli had an outstanding year, gathering a total of 530 runs, with four fifties and his highest score at 92*. However, despite Kohli’s efforts, the team ended in sixth place.
#5 AB de Villiers in 2019
RCB had an underwhelming season in 2019 with 11 points from 14 matches, even though the South African star scored 442 runs with five half-centuries from 13 innings. Nevertheless, since 2019, Bangalore has qualified for the playoffs every season.
