"If Anuj Rawat is playing in the middle overs, is it really a superstar team?" - Irfan Pathan on RCB's batting heading into IPL 2024

Irfan Pathan has questioned whether the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have a star-studded batting lineup heading into IPL 2024, considering that a relatively unknown player like Anuj Rawat played for them as a middle-order batter last season.

Rawat scored 91 runs at a strike rate of 128.16 in seven innings in IPL 2023. The Bengaluru-based franchise was forced to field him in the XI due to Rajat Patidar's unavailability and Dinesh Karthik's lean run with the bat.

During a discussion on Star Sports, Pathan was asked whether the Royal Challengers Bangalore would once again be dependent on their batting, especially Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell. He replied in the affirmative, reasoning:

"Absolutely, because the bowling is not as strong as it used to be, despite them having not won the tournament yet in so many years. So the batting will be the key, how they start and how they play in the middle overs as well.

"You have got to keep an eye on that. We always talk about them being a batting superstars' team. However, if Anuj Rawat is playing in the middle overs, is it really a superstar team? So that wasn't the case," the former India all-rounder added.

Pathan acknowledged that Cameron Green's acquisition would strengthen RCB's batting in the upcoming season. However, he added that the Australian all-rounder's inclusion in the playing XI would cause a team combination issue as they would be able to field only one overseas bowler.

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"I think that is what would have disappointed them" - Sunil Gavaskar on Dinesh Karthik's lean run for RCB in IPL 2023

Dinesh Karthik aggregated 140 runs at an average of 11.67 in 13 innings in IPL 2023. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Sunil Gavaskar was further asked about Dinesh Karthik's lean run for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2023. He responded:

"I think that is what would have disappointed them because he is such a good finisher and somehow he wasn't quite able to deliver last year. But it could be one of those seasons. You have a bad season, so that could be the case as far as DK is concerned."

However, the former India captain reckons the wicketkeeper-batter could script a turnaround this season.

"He could come this time around and change it completely positively for RCB just when they need those extra 25-30 runs in say an over or two. With his experience, he certainly can do that," Gavaskar said.

Gavaskar added that the experienced Karthik's presence can also help RCB's bowlers. He reasoned that the franchise's bowling isn't quite suited for the T20 format and is a bigger concern than their batting.