Injury-hit RCB still seeking maiden title

Likely first-choice XI

Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli (capt), AB de Villiers, Shane Watson, Kedar Jadhav (wk), Sachin Baby, Stuart Binny, Pawan Negi, Yuzvendra Chahal, Tymal Mills, Aniket Choudhary

Reserves

Batsmen - Travis Head, Mandeep Singh
Allrounders - Praveen Dubey
Bowlers - Billy Stanlake, Samuel Badree, Adam Milne, Tabraiz Shamsi, S Aravind, Iqbal Abdullah, Avesh Khan, Harshal Patel

Strengths

Their overseas talent, including AB de Villiers, Chris Gayle, Shane Watson and Tymal Mills, form plausibly the best foreign combination in this season's IPL. Having played all their home games at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Royal Challengers seem to have figured out a winning template for the ground's small dimensions, and they prefer it that way.

Weaknesses

A list of injuries bother the runners-up from last year. Royal Challengers have confirmed that they have lost KL Rahul for the season to a shoulder injury. The availability of Kohli (shoulder) and 19-year old batsman Sarfaraz Khan (leg) remains uncertain, and de Villiers (back) was ruled out of the season opener on April 5. Royal Challengers also lack depth in fast-bowling stocks. In the 2016 season, Royal Challengers failed to win too many games with their bowling. Their local fast bowlers failed to be consistent. Also, despite all their explosive big-names, they are yet to win an IPL title.

Where they finished in 2016, and what's different this year?

Second. They lost the final of the 2016 season to Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Royal Challengers' pre-season has been plagued by uncertainty. Sweating on their biggest stars' fitness hasn't been ideal preparation. The franchise is expected to have a different captain in Kohli's absence. If de Villiers, who was slated to take over for Kohli, misses a few games too, Royal Challengers will also have a revamped batting line-up. Mandeep Singh might have to step up to the opener's role.

Mitchell Starc opted out of the IPL season ahead of the 2017 player auction, and so the team management splurged INR 12 crore (USD 1.79 million) on T20-specialist fast bowler Mills, making him the most expensive bowler picked up at an IPL auction. They also spent a combined INR 3 crore on left-arm seamer Aniket Choudhary and allrounder Pawan Negi, strengthening their bowling.

What have their players been up to?

• After being diagnosed with a congenital back condition in 2015, Mills was left with just white-ball cricket. He made his T20I debut against Sri Lanka in Southampton in 2016 and now a regular feature in England's T20 squad, becoming one of the most sought-after specialists in various T20 leagues.
• A left-calf injury meant Shane Watson missed the start of the Big Bash League, but he returned to lead the Sydney Thunder's miserable campaign where they finished last. Following the BBL, Watson was involved in Islamabad United's run to the playoffs in the PSL. Across both competitions, Watson played 15 games, scored 275 runs at 19.64, and took 17 wickets at a bowling average of 19.88. He has been named interim captain as well.
• Now a vital cog in India's middle order in ODIs, Kedar Jadhav put in some sparkling performances in the series against England, including a match-winning 76-ball 120 in Pune. He continued that form for Maharashtra in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, hitting 375 runs in seven matches at an average of 53.57.

Overseas-player availability

De Villiers, once fit, will be available for the group stages before joining South Africa's squad for the three-match ODI series against England ahead of the Champions Trophy. Tabraiz Shamsi, if picked in the national squad, will also not be available for the playoffs.

Home and away record in 2016

Royal Challengers have won four of their seven games at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, their home ground, in the 2016 season. Away from home, they won four too. Royal Challengers also split their two knockout games - the first qualifier and the final - in Bengaluru.

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1850 GMT The article was updated with news of Shane Watson becoming interim captain