IPL 2018: 4 areas where RCB haven't changed over the years

Royal Challengers Bangalore are a team that looks quite intimidating on paper every season. And yet they haven't been able to get their hands on the IPL trophy even once.

The Bangalore Derby boasts some of the biggest names in the cricketing world. Over the years, RCB has gone come out of auctions with more or less the same structure of the team.

There are certain areas where RCB hasn't changed much and that may lead to another disappointment in the ongoing season of IPL.

Let us look at the areas where RCB haven't changed much.

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#1 Top-heavy batting

Kohli & De Villiers, along with De Kock, have done the bulk of batting for RCB.

RCB have over-relied on a top-heavy batting in every season. The presence of big stars in the top 4 has been a double-edged sword.

On their day, the top 4 can take on any given bowling line-up in the world. With players like Kohli and De Villiers, the chances of failure are not very high.

However, too much pressure on the top-order has seen the side crumbling under pressure at times.

Whenever the top-order has failed to deliver, the side has invariably gone on to lose the match.

#2 Middle-order fragilities

Sarfaraz's poor form led to him being dropped from the third game.

RCB's middle-order has not been able to step-up to the occasion multiple times now. Coming out to bat after McCullum, De Kock, Kohli and De Villiers is never easy.

Mandeep Singh and Sarfaraz Khan have been promising but they have not had the kind of impact expected from them. Mandeep, especially, has been around for some time now.

Bangalore's middle-order has lacked the kind of flair they have at the top. Mandeep and Washington Sundar played good hands in the last match but the game was long gone.

This season, Pawan Negi hasn't got many chances till now and Chris Woakes is yet to play an inning that could prove his credentials as an all-rounder.

#3 Lack outility players

RCB have overlooked the utility players in the auctions.

Over the years, Bangalore has relied on specialists in each department. They have lacked the kind of players who can turn the game in any department single-handedly.

IPL has witnessed many such players who are multi-dimensional. Dwayne Bravo, for instance, has proved to be gold for the CSK franchise on numerous occasions. He has won many games for the men in yellow, single-handedly, through his batting, bowling and fielding.

Surprisingly, RCB's owners haven't put their money in utility players like Hardik Pandya, Dwayne Bravo, and Andre Russell.

#3 Non-penetrative bowling

The bowling department of RCB is yet to fire on all cylinders.

Well, to be honest, death, taxes and RCB's bowling implosion are inescapable. The men in red have been a touch unlucky as well. Last season, they lost Mitchell Starc to injury while Nathan Coulter-Nile was the one to perish to injuries this season.

To be honest, RCB, so far, has been ordinary with the ball. Bowling has been the Achilles' heel for the franchise for some time now.

They have two very talented spinners in Yuzvendra Chahal and Washington Sundar but the whole bowling line-up is yet to rise to the occasion. Umesh has been impressive in one game and erratic in the next game while Woakes has looked largely off-colour.

In the match against Rajasthan Royals, the bowlers went for 140-odd runs in the last 10 overs which is mediocre by all means.

Going forward, the teams in IPL will surely target the depleted RCB bowling and the franchise needs to find the right combinations sooner than later.