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Another season of the Indian Premier League dawns. The season 12 of the cash- rich league. And once again the spotlight will be on the most talked about and star- studded team Royal Challengers Bangalore. Will they be finally able to break their jinx at the IPL?. It is this question that has been asked everytime the IPL arrives.
The team has made three final appearances in the IPL, losing all (in 2009 to the Deccan Chargers, in 2011 to the Chennai Super Kings and in 2016 to the Sunrisers Hyderabad).
The team also finished runners-up in the 2011 CLT20, losing the final against the Mumbai Indians.
So can the team captained by superstar and Indian cricket team skipper Virat Kohli and coached by former India coach Gary Kirsten go all the way in 2019 ?
The time to #PLAYBOLD is NOW
Our #VIVOIPL 2019 fixtures for the first 2 weeks @IPL #playbold pic.twitter.com/WNw662jwCq— Royal Challengers (@RCBTweets) February 19, 2019
With every passing year the pressure is on Virat Kohli to finally win an IPL trophy under his captaincy. The Likes of Rohit Sharma ( Mumbai Indians) Gautam Gambhir ( Kolkata Knight Riders) , Mahendra Singh Dhoni ( Chennai Super Kings) have all tasted success but Virat has missed out . So in 2019 the pressure is on him to deliver not only as player which he has been outstanding but more importantly as skipper. If he fails in 2019 then chorus to replace him as skipper will only grow. Virat has been in charge long enough and has been with the franchise since the beginning so its is high time he brings home the cup. Team high on publicity, star power mean little until the trophy is won and is in the cupboard.
RCB Team For 2019 : Virat Kohli (captain), Akshdeep Nath, Moeen Ali, Yuzvendra Chahal, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Colin de Grandhomme, AB de Villiers, Shivam Dube, Gurkeerat Mann Singh, Shimron Hetmyer, Himmat Singh, Kulwant Khejroliya, Heinrich Klaasen, Milind Kumar, Mohammed Siraj, Pawan Negi, Devdutt Padikkal, Parthiv Patel (wicket-keeper), Prayas Ray Barman, Navdeep Saini, Tim Southee, Marcus Stoinis, Washington Sundar, Umesh Yadav.
If one looks at the side for the 2019 edition it looks strong and is capable of going all the way. A team has in the line -up superstars Virat Kohli, A B De Villers, and useful players like Moeen Ali , Marcus Stoinis, Colin de Grandhomme. The seam attack looks good with Tim Southee, Nathan Coulter Nile, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj .
Spin quartet of Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar, Moeen Ali, Pawan Negi . With a fine balanced side #Play Bold mantra it is time it delivers to its ardent passionate fans who had backed the side all these years.
