Bowlers having a ball as RCB eye elusive title
NEW CHANDIGARH: As Josh Hazlewood sat down at the ground-floor press conference hall of the New PCA Stadium in New Chandigarh on Thursday night, there was one question put in front of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru pacer in multiple forms. Once their Achilles heel, RCB's bowling attack has been the standout factor in their road to the 2025 IPL final — what has changed?
The question did not come without merit. Historically, RCB have been a unit that relied heavily on their batting exploits, especially Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle (at least in the past). It meant that more often than not, when push came to shove, they did not have the resources to put together a well-rounded bowling attack that could deliver. It was one of the reasons why, between 2012 and 2019, they made the playoffs only twice — in 2015 and 2016. In 2015, it was on the back of Mitchell Starc's stellar show while the year after Kohli madness took them into the final.
It was not until 2020 that they made the playoffs again. Since then, RCB have finished in the top four in all but one year — 2023. And with good reason. Every season since 2020, RCB have had at least three bowlers taking ten wickets or more, with others chipping in. Even in 2023, they missed the playoffs by just two points, finishing sixth. As much as it is about numbers, the consistency came along with the change in approach towards squad building, the balance that was achieved since 2020. It is something they have continued, including ahead of the 2025 mega auction, where they signed Josh Hazlewood, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Krunal Pandya, Suyash Sharma, while retaining Yash Dayal.
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