The Royal Challengers Bangalore, commonly known as RCB, is one of the most popular IPL franchises. Subsequently, RCB has always boasted of world-class players capable enough to turn a match on its head. Even though the franchise has not won any Indian Premier League titles until now, they continue to enjoy massive popularity among cricket fans and various global brands.
In addition, the presence of Indian cricket superstar and ex-Indian captain Virat Kohli in the RCB team ever since its inception in 2008 has helped the franchise gain more popularity over the years.
In addition, Kohli himself credits RCB for the success he has achieved for Indian cricket over the years. He has been instrumental in RCB having captained them from 2013 to 2021.
Along with AB De Villiers, their batting combination sent shivers into the opposition camp. Consequently, the duo has been a part of several destructive batting partnerships.
RCB: Overview and History
The franchise is owned by United Spirits Limited, a Diageo Group company. Besides, an estimated US$111.6 million was spent on the Bangalore franchise by Vijay Mallya. In addition, this was the second-highest bid for an IPL team, behind only Reliance Industries’ US$111.9 million bid for Mumbai Indians.
Moreover, after finishing in the bottom two in 2008, the Royal Challengers Bangalore finished runners-up in 2009 and semifinalists in 2010. Furthermore, back-to-back seasons of good play led the team to the 2011 IPL final. However, Virat Kohli led Royal Challengers Bangalore to a second-place finish in 2016.
In addition, RCB has also played three finals in the IPL but lost all three (in 2009 to the Deccan Chargers, in 2011 to the Chennai Super Kings, and in 2016 to Sunrisers Hyderabad). Finally, Ex-South African captain Faf du Plessis was declared the captain of the franchise from the 2021 IPL season onwards.
RCB Franchise History
Royal Challengers Bangalore started its 2008 inaugural season of IPL with just 4 wins and 10 losses in their 14 group stage games. However, the next season saw them qualify for the group stages. But, they were eventually knocked out in the eliminator stage with 9 wins and 7 losses in 16 games.
Subsequently, the 2010 IPL season witnessed a similar story as the team finished in the third position. Again, in the 2011 season, they were captained by the former New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori. RCB finished as runners-up in the tournament after losing to Chennai Super Kings in the final.
In the 2012 season, they were captained by Vettori again. Again, RCB finished fifth in the IPL and did not qualify for the Champions League T20. Meanwhile, in the 2013 IPL season, they were captained by Virat Kohli. RCb finished fifth in the IPL and did not qualify for the Champions League T20.
In the 2014 season led by Virat Kohli, Royal Challengers Bangalore finished seventh in the IPL and yet again did not qualify for the Champions League T20. However, in the 2015 IPL season, Royal Challengers Bangalore finished third in the IPL.
In the 2016 IPL season, the franchise was captained by Virat Kohli and coached by Daniel Vettori. In this edition, captain Virat Kohli scored the most runs in a single season. However, the team lost the finals against the Sunrisers Hyderabad and finished second.
The 2017 IPL season was one of the most difficult seasons for RCB, as when it started their key players were injured and missed initial matches. Shane Watson had taken the responsibility for captaining RCB. Meanwhile, they finished the season in 8th position.
RCB Latest Stats
In the 2018 IPL season, the team finished in 6th position with 6 wins and 8 losses in their 14 group-stage games. Again, in the 2019 season, RCB continued under Kohli’s captaincy and finished the season with five wins from 14 matches and 11 points.
Meanwhile, in the 2020 IPL season, they qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2016. However, the team finished 4th in the tournament after losing to Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Eliminator.
The 2021 IPL season saw the team captained by Virat Kohli with coach Mike Hesson. They were eliminated from the tournament after qualifying for the playoffs and losing to Kolkata Knight Riders in the Eliminator match. This was the last season in IPL for AB De Villiers who announced his retirement.
RCB played the IPL 2022 under Faf Du Plessis after Virat Kohli quit both the national team and RCB captaincy simultaneously. They finished 4th in the tournament after 8 wins and 6 losses in 14 games.
RCB Stats
Meanwhile, RCB always had great firepower with the bat. In addition, the likes of batting superstars like Virat Kohli, AB De Villiers, Kevin Pietersen, Shane Watson, Glenn Maxwell, etc have fired with the bat every time they have taken center stage.
However, at times, they have been guilty of not bowling well in vital games. Again, their home ground M. Chinnaswamy stadium itself has always been a bowler-friendly pitch with short boundaries aiding the batsman.
As the IPL 2023 approaches, they would love to have some world-class bowlers to help their batsmen out. The IPL 2023 will be a key season for RCB, given that their squad looks very balanced right now.
Most Runs
| Sr. No | Runs | Batsman | Matches | Innings | Period |
| 1 | 6,390 | Virat Kohli | 212 | 204 | 2008-2022 |
| 2 | 4,491 | AB De Villiers | 156 | 144 | 2011-2021 |
| 3 | 3,163 | Chris Gayle | 85 | 84 | 2011-2017 |
| 4 | 1,132 | Jacques Kallis | 42 | 42 | 2008-2010 |
| 5 | 898 | Rahul Dravid | 43 | 37 | 2008-2010 |
Most Wickets
| Sr. No | Wickets | Bowler | Matches | Innings | Period |
| 1 | 139 | Yuzvendra Chahal | 113 | 112 | 2014-2021 |
| 2 | 74 | Harshal Patel | 57 | 55 | 2008-2022 |
| 3 | 72 | Vinay Kumar | 64 | 63 | 2012-2013 |
| 4 | 49 | Zaheer Khan | 44 | 43 | 2008-2013 |
| 5 | 45 | Anil Kumble | 42 | 42 | 2008-2010 |
| 5 | 45 | Sreenath Aravind | 38 | 38 | 2011-2017 |
RCB Captain and Stats
So far, RCB has come up with seven captains since making their debut in 2008. Virat Kohli has been the captain of the franchise for the longest (2011 to 2021). But quite surprisingly, the star-studded franchise has not managed to win a single IPL trophy to date.
| Player | Span | Matches | Won | Lost | Tied | No Result | Win % |
| Rahul Dravid | 2008 | 14 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 28.57 |
| Kevin Pietersen | 2009 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 33.33 |
| Anil Kumble | 2009-2010 | 35 | 19 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 54.28 |
| Daniel Vettori | 2011-2012 | 28 | 15 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 53.57 |
| Virat Kohli | 2011-2021 | 140 | 64 | 69 | 3 | 4 | 48.16 |
| Shane Watson | 2017-2017 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 33.33 |
| Faf Du Plessis | 2022- Present | 16 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 56.25 |
RCB Current Squad
Meanwhile, in the auction, Bangalore showed excellent spending power. They demonstrated their intent by purchasing Faf Du Plessis for Rs. 7 crore, who was one of the top run scorers in 2021. However, a bidding war broke out for Harshal Patal, the MVP of 2021, as RCB used their spending power to fend off their opponents.
Finally, he signed for Rs. 10.75 crores. In addition, they spent Rs. 10.75 crores to bring in Wanindu Hasaranga. Subsequently, they signed Dinesh Kartik (Rs. 5.5 Crore) and Josh Hazelwood (Rs. 7.75 Crore).
RCB 2022 IPL Squad: Faf du Plessis(C), Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Mohammed Siraj, Harshal Patel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dinesh Karthik, Josh Hazlewood, Shahbaz Ahmed, Anuj Rawat, Akash Deep, Mahipal Lomror, Finn Allen, Sherfane Rutherford, Jason Behrendorff, Suyash Prabhudessai, Chama Milind, Aneeshwar Gautam, Karn Sharma, David Willey, Luvnith Sisodia, Siddharth Kaul
