IPL 2023: Kohli and his Squad are Prepared for the Battle

Looking for their maiden IPL 2023 title, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) is ready to start their campaign for the 16^th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) against the five-time champions Mumbai Indians on April 2. With an amazing list of star players in the squad, RCB will surely make their way to the finals this time.

Though RCB made their IPL debut in 2008 and had a star-studded squad every season, they failed to hold the title every time. It was in 2016 that RCB made their best finish in the tournament, but they lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad in the finals. It was Virat Kohli’s best IPL season as he got a whopping 963 runs in the league which includes 4 centuries. In 2009 and 2011 also, RCB finished in second place.  The IPL seasons 2010, 2015, and 2022 saw RCB at their finest form. After losing to Rajasthan Royals in the second qualifier, RCB finished 4^th in the last year’s IPL season.

The Faf Du Plessis-led RCB has one of the most ardent fan bases in the tournament and in 2023, the same will continues with a highly settled team of players with them. Team RCB retained most of their players in IPL 2022 for this season also to continue their pursuit of the first championship.

IPL 2023 Auction

The IPL 2023 Auction was held in December 2022 and team RCB retained the majority of its players because of the tremendous season in IPL 2022. The retained players are Virat Kohli (₹16 crores), Maxwell (₹12 crores), Mohammed Siraj (₹7 crores), Wanindu Hasaranga (₹7 crores), Harshal Patel (₹7 crores). RCB acquired Faf du Plessis last year for 7 crores and made him the captain of the team. Du Plessis will continue to lead the team this season. The other players retained in the team are,

Dinesh Karthik, Josh Hazlewood, Shahbaz Ahmad, Anuj Rawat, Akash Deep, Mahipal Lomror, Finn Allen, Sherfane Rutherford, Jason Behrendorff, Suyash Prabhudessai, Aneeshwar Gautam, Karn Sharma, David Willey, Rajat Patidar, Siddharth Kaul, and Chama Milind.

RCB Released Players IPL 2023

Year after year, RCB showcases improved performances in the matches. Even though RCB finished 8^th in IPL 2019, they were ranked second in the two seasons that followed. In 2022, RCB rose to 3^rd place and more will be expected this time. So, the team doesn’t have the plan to release many players from the list. Instead of releasing core players, they choose to release some players and search for backup options. The released players are,

Jason Behrendorff, Aneeshwar Gautam, Karn Sharma, Akash Deep, Siddharth Kaul, Chama Milind, David Willey, and Luvnith Sisodia.

RCB – IPL 2023 team players list

Faf du Plessis (c), Virat Kohli, Finn Allen, Rajat Patidar, Suyash Prabhudessai, Will Jacks, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik, Wanindu Hasaranga, Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Maxwell, Shahbaz Ahmed, Manoj Bhandage, Josh Hazlewood, Sonu Yadav, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Harshal Patel, Siddarth Kaul, Karn Sharma, David Willey, Rajan Kumar, Reece Topley, Avinash Singh, Himanshu Sharma.

RCB IPL 2023 schedule