Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mitchell Starc might have parted ways ahead of the IPL tournament that kickstarts its tenth leg on April 5, but looks like, Bengalureans have already found promising new faces to root for this season!
We hear from loyal fans about whom they are throwing their weight behind ahead of the first Royal outing. While King Kohli will remain the star attraction alongside hard-hitters AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle, Bengalureans have now turned their attention to Tymal Mills.
“Compared to last season, RCB has a much better squad now. Tymal Mills is a great addition, and perhaps one of the best purchases at this year’s auction,” chips in Robin Srivastava.
A city-based entrepreneur and an ardent fan who closely follows the matches, he gives his reasons why – “His bowling in India was outstanding and that is the kind of bowler RCB has missed for the last two seasons. One is sure to hear the stadium chant ‘Tymal! Tymal!’ this time around,” he predicts.
Those who are going to miss Starc think Tymal is a good replacement too. After all, he has inflicted quite a bit of damage on the opponents, ushering England’s victory more than once. “You could call him a T20 specialist. He doesn’t play any other form and is a very good fast bowler. It’s what RCB needs at the moment,” offers Rakesh Menon, a cricket enthusiast from the city.
Kedar Jadhav is another top favourite. “He’s an instinctive cricketer who has the ability to stay calm and composed while playing clean cricketing shots even when the team is under immense pressure. He loves rotating the strike which is an extremely valuable quality for a batsman to have in the current T20 format today. That said, he can also step up the ante and go all guns blazing when required,” says popular city-based photographer, Arjun Kamath who is a big fan of the game.
What’s more? “He’s a batsman who can bowl!” he adds about what the Royals in red need the most. Robin adds that there are other things that the team needs – “A lot depends on when AB decides to leave for the England tour. The bowling squad has slightly improved but will require one of the uncapped players to bowl four decent overs. Samuel Badree replacing out of form overseas players is also a great boost. On paper, I think RCB has a good chance to make the playoffs again.”
Indian test opener who came into his own under Kohli’s wing last year, KL Rahul, Yuzvendra Chahal who delivered India’s best T20 spell with six wickets against England recently, IPL’s youngest player when he made his debut, Sarfaraz Khan, all-rounders Pawan Negi and Stuart Binny along with another hit bowler, Srinath Aravind – on paper, RCB seems to have enough in its arsenal to bring the silverware home. And maybe we will.
