IPL: 3 Indian cricketers who owe their careers to RCB

#2 Yuzvendra Chahal

Chahal is allowed to be his attacking best for RCB in the IPL

Yuzvendra Chahal is now a regular in the Indian ODI and T20I sides and the primary reason behind this is his success under Virat Kohli for RCB in the IPL.

More than Kohli himself, though, his excellent record in the IPL is down to the absence of other quality bowlers in the RCB side, leaving the leg-spinner the task of bowling at all the difficult stages of the innings and thereby picking up wickets.

Chahal has also been aided by the short boundaries at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, with him being at his best when the batsmen look to take him on. For RCB, the 29-year-old has played 84 games and picked up 100 wickets at an economy rate of 7.78.

For India, the Haryana bowler is closing in on 100 matches and owes a large part of his international career to his IPL franchise.

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#1 Virat Kohli

RCB captain Virat Kohli has to thank the team for the faith he was shown in the early part of his career

Indian captain Virat Kohli is the face of RCB, so his inclusion in this list shouldn't come as a surprise to many. After Delhi Daredevils passed on the 2008 U-19 World Cup-winning captain in the inaugural IPL auction, RCB snaffled the youngster in their best move in history.

In 177 matches for RCB in the IPL, one of the few one-club-men in the league has scored 5,412 runs and is the leading run-getter in tournament history. His India records don't even need to be mentioned - such is the stature of the greatest batsman of the modern era.

Virat Kohli was afforded multiple opportunities at his preferred batting positions despite indifferent initial seasons and although the RCB skipper would have probably made it on the international level anyway, his rise might not have been as rapid. Under the tutelage of Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, and Daniel Vettori in the early IPL seasons, Kohli was also groomed for a leadership role right from the outset.

Had Kohli not played for and captained RCB in the IPL, the situation at the Indian cricket team might look very different at the moment.

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