Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) didn’t make the Indian Premier League (IPL) playoffs. The three-time IPL runner-up fought hard, winning seven and losing the same number of games. But that wasn’t just enough, as Mumbai Indians (MI) pipped them to the top four. Although this wasn’t a bad performance by any stretch of the imagination, it wasn’t better than mediocre.
RCB IPL 2023 Season
RCB started with a big win over Mumbai at their home ground. However, their campaign got interrupted by the 2023 Karnataka Legislative Assembly election, which ensured that they would be on a long road, playing many away games on the trot. RCB’s top batters, known as KGF (Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, and Faf du Plessis), fired in almost every match; in fact, Kohli and Du Plessis were in the top-ten scorers this season. But some of the other players failed to back that up.
Even in bowling, Mohammed Siraj was among their best bowlers. This season he was consistent but failed to get the desired support from other bowlers like Harshal Patel and David Willey.
We will look at the four players responsible for RCB’s downfall. If you are someone who was deeply hurt by RCB’s yet another poor performance, stay tuned and read the full article. These players didn’t impress cricket fans in the IPL online cricket betting.
Harshal Patel
The medium-pacer had bowled superbly in IPL 2021 season, so much so that he won the Purple Cap. Yes, he picked up 32 wickets and ensured he was the top wicket-taker that season. The 32-year-old was particularly effective in bowling those slow balls and yorkers.
In 2022, he couldn’t match that performance, but he picked up 19 wickets. Nevertheless, in 2023, he managed just 14 wickets. Moreover, his economy rate was more than nine, which was too much to handle for RCB skipper Faf du Plessis and, of course, RCB fans.
Shahbaz Ahmed
This young Bengal all-rounder showed his class in IPL 2021 when he helped RCB beat SRH with a triple-wicket over. He turned out to be a great batter as well. On occasions, Shahbaz helped RCB chase down targets in intense chases.
He even improved his batting and scored 219 runs in IPL 2022, only to falter this season. Moreover, his bowling was a dud as he failed to pick up crucial breakthroughs. He accounted for just a single wicket in the ten matches in IPL 2023.
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Wanindu Hasaranga
Hasaranga was perhaps the best T20 bowler in the world till 2022. When he joined RCB, he was on a high. He was the highest wicket-taker in the T20 World Cup in 2021, and no surprise, he went on to push Yuzvendra Chahal, the purple cap holder that season.
The Sri Lankan’s bowling was just too good in the shorter format, as he used to alter his length to suit his attacking bowling. However, in 2023, none of that worked. He eventually ended up accounting for nine wickets in eight outings.
Dinesh Karthik
Known as DK, Karthik made quite a name for himself last season. He established himself as the specialist finisher, accounting for 330 runs in 16 matches. Don’t forget that these runs were scored at number 6, batting late down the order.
Even the selectors were impressed and fast-tracked him into the Indian team. He would go on to play in the 2022 T20 World Cup. After India’s exit, he was dropped from the scheme of things, and DK could have had a chance for another comeback had he made an impact with the bat, but that didn’t happen in 2023. He would eventually score 140 runs in 13 matches.
Final Thoughts
RCB is considered the better team in IPL, but not the best since they always choke under pressure. This season, too, they showed some promise and went on to crash out yet again. The franchise’s best finishes came in 2009, 2011, and 2016 when they reached the finals. It’s ironic that RCB would play so many seasons but would not win the title even once.
