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Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will resume their 'Ee Sala Cup Namde' mission when they take on defending champions Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League 2024 opener at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Friday, March 22.
RCB have promised a lot over the years but are yet to win the title. They have reached the IPL final thrice - in 2009, 2011 and 2016 - but fell short on each occasion. Moreover, Bangalore made it to the playoffs for three consecutive seasons from 2020 to 2022, but the coveted trophy continued to elude them.
There were high hopes from Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2023 as well, but they failed to reach the top-four and were eliminated after the league stage, finishing a disappointing sixth. RCB won seven games but lost as many in IPL 2023.
As Faf du Plessis and Co. prepare for a brand-new season, we pick three young batters who could have a major impact on the franchise's fortunes in IPL 2024.
#3 Mahipal Lomror
Rajasthan's Mahipal Lomror was purchased by RCB for ₹95 lakh at the IPL 2022 auction.
The 24-year-old is an aggressive batter who has the ability to play game-defining knocks. He has not performed to potential for Bangalore yet in the IPL but has provided a few glimpses of his talent.
The left-handed batter smacked an impressive 42 off 27 in an IPL 2022 clash in Pune against a strong Chennai Super Kings bowling outfit. Coming into bat at No. 4, Lomror slammed three fours and two sixes, playing a key role in RCB's 13-run triumph.
The left-handed batter registered his maiden IPL fifty in 2023, cloberring 54* off only 29 against Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. The blazing knock, which featured six fours and three sixes, came in a losing cause but grabbed a few eyeballs nonetheless.
Although he's only 24, Lomror made his IPL debut in 2018. He has only played 30 games, though. The left-hander played 12 games for RCB last season but only managed 135 runs. The talented batting all-rounder will be keen to improve his stats significantly.
#2 Will Jacks
There was plenty of hype about hard-hitting England batter Will Jacks ahead of the IPL 2023 auction.
He was eventually purchased by RCB for ₹3.2 crore. Unfortunately, he could not display his talent in the IPL last season, as he was ruled out due to a muscle injury he picked up while fielding in an ODI against Bangladesh.
The 25-year-old will be keen to prove his mettle in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League. Jacks has an excellent record in the T20 format. In 157 games, he has smashed 4,130 runs at an average of 29.71 and a strike rate of 158.66, with three hundreds and 30 half-centuries.
Jacks struck 108* off 53 for Comilla Victorians against Chattogram Challengers in a Bangladesh Premier League 2024 clash in February.
Earlier, he had slammed 108* off 48 for Oval Invincibles against Southern Brave in the 2022 edition of The Hundred. The knock featured 10 fours and eight sixes. RCB will hope that Jacks lives up to the huge expectations.
#1 Cameron Green
His inclusion on the list might sound a bit bizarre, given the amount of spotlight Cameron Green has been under over the last few months.
However, at the age of 24 and having been traded to RCB from MI for a whopping ₹17.5 crore, the Australian big-hitter will be one to watch out for the most among Bangalore's young guns in IPL 2024.
The batting all-rounder, who can knock the cover off the ball, played 16 games for Mumbai Indians in his debut IPL season last year. Green did a decent job, scoring 452 runs at an average of 50.22 (bolstered by seven not outs) and an impressive strike rate of 160.28.
The right-handed batter notched up a hundred in his debut season when he clubbed 100* off 47 against SunRisers Hyderabad at the Wankhede in Mumbai.
There are no doubts about Green's potential as a batter. But in a line-up of dashers, it will be interesting to observe how RCB utilize his big-hitting skills in IPL 2024.
