Being the defending champion of any match could be a double-edged sword. And Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) might very nicely really feel each the great and the dangerous this very sword brings with it because it embarks on its title defence within the 2025 season.
RCB will hope to be the primary crew on this younger competitors to retain its title, a yr after it defeated Delhi Capitals within the remaining to raise the franchise’s first trophy.
One thing that may absolutely assist the Challengers make a case for themselves to clinch back-to-back trophies is their batting. Led by an skilled Ellyse Perry of Australia, who amassed 347 runs from 9 matches final season to win the Orange Cap, RCB’s batting line-up additionally boasts India internationals like Smriti and Richa Ghosh.
Skipper Smriti just lately loved profitable outings towards Eire and the West Indies in back-to-back bilateral collection. Towards the Windies, the southpaw scored at a mean of virtually 65 within the shortest format and emerged as the highest scorer within the three-match collection. Throughout the ODI collection with the Irish, she scored a century and ended with 249 runs at a formidable common of 83.
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One other asset of RCB is the big-hitting Richa. The Bengal wicketkeeper-batter is the quintessential instance of a finisher and may show to be helpful within the dying overs with quickfire knocks.
The boldness, and maybe a skip of their step, credited to the tag of being the ‘defending champion’, can absolutely assistance on their very own. However the Challengers’ tempo battery has at all times been low on cost, by way of output not less than. Over the 2 seasons, RCB’s spin division has taken extra wickets (64) in comparison with the 29 scalped by the pacers. Nevertheless, the quick bowlers have been extra economical, having conceded 263 fewer runs.
Whereas the spinners are considered one of RCB’s biggest strengths, the administration would rue the absence of Asha Sobhana from the beginning line-up. The leg-break bowler from Kerala took 12 wickets final season. The second-highest wicket-taker in that marketing campaign has now been sidelined attributable to a knee harm, which additionally saved her out of the Ladies’s T20 World Cup within the UAE.
Shreyanka Patil – final yr’s Purple Cap winner – is the one spin choice that has expertise within the WPL and internationally.
| Photograph Credit score:
SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR/ The Hindu
Shreyanka Patil – final yr’s Purple Cap winner – is the one spin choice that has expertise within the WPL and internationally.
| Photograph Credit score:
SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR/ The Hindu
An absence that might weaken RCB’s core is Sophie Devine. The T20 World Cup-winning skipper of the New Zealand facet introduced a break from cricket, ruling her out of the 2025 WPL season. The clutch all-rounder’s capability with each the ball and the bat will probably be a sore miss for the Challengers.
There are some gamers who may assist bandage these wounds. Thrilling prospects just like the Uttarakhand leg-spin all-rounder Prema Rawat may slot in as Asha’s alternative. Joshitha VJ, upbeat from her U-19 Ladies’s T20 World Cup triumph in Malaysia, is one other all-rounder to be careful for.
RCB has introduced in skilled Australia internationals Heather Graham and Kim Garth instead of Devine and Kate Cross, who has opted out of the season attributable to private causes. Each Graham and Garth may energy up the Challengers’ tempo battery, with the latter having earlier performed for Gujarat Giants within the match.
Whereas the batters have virtually nothing to fret about, the bowling division may very nicely be dealt one other blow if the celebrities determine to not align for the defending champion.
Because it stands, Shreyanka Patil — final yr’s Purple Cap winner — is the crew’s solely spin choice with each WPL and worldwide expertise. Nevertheless, she has struggled with accidents during the last eight months, together with a fractured finger on her left hand throughout the Ladies’s Asia Cup final yr. Whereas she did handle to get slot in time for the T20 World Cup, the place she took 4 wickets, it has been greater than three months since she final performed a aggressive match.
It is going to be fascinating to see how the champion facet fares in its title defence, beginning towards Gujarat Giants in Vadodara on February 14.