Royal Challengers Bangalore have been one of the most exciting teams in the history of the IPL. While a lot of teams have envied RCB’s strength in batting over the years, their bowling department has never been up to the mark. Although the Bengaluru-based franchise hasn’t had much success to boast about, they have finished as runners up on three occasions (2009, 2011 and 2016). The Royal Challengers have a huge fan base all over India, largely due to Virat Kohli.

Rahul Dravid was chosen as their icon and captain for the inaugural edition of the IPL. They experimented with a lot of captaincy options like Kevin Pieterson and Anil Kumble, after finally settling on Virat Kohli. Virat Kohli, along with the likes of AB De Villiers and former player Chris Gayle, have carried the mantle of the team’s batting for the past decade. The team plays it’s home matches in the M. Chinnaswamy stadium.

The franchise has always been a formidable side to compete with. Once decorated by the likes of Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis, Chris Gayle and Anil Kumble, RCB now have some world-class cricketers such as Virat Kohli, Yuzvendra Chahal and AB de Villiers. Out of all the teams that have failed to win the trophy even once, Royal Challengers Bangalore are probably the most successful as they have come close to winning it multiple times.

Now let us take a look at their all-time best XI:

1. Rahul Dravid

Rahul Dravid is one of the greatest batsmen to grace the field. He was known as a defensive batsman who should be confined to Test cricket and was dropped from the ODI squad due to a low strike rate. However, in a later period of his career, he began consistently scoring runs in ODIs as well. He faced a similar situation at the beginning of the IPL, but as always he let his bat do the talking for him.

Dravid was RCB’s captain for the 2008 IPL. He plied his trade at the M. Chinnaswamy stadium for three years before spending another 3 year period with Rajasthan Royals. During his association with the Royal Challengers Bangalore, the Indore-born batsman scored 1132 runs in 45 innings. He still remains in the top 5 run-scorers for the franchise to this date.

Although he faced criticism from Vijay Mallya for selecting an unbalanced team for the 2008 campaign, he was stupendous with that season. Mr Dependable scored 371 runs which came at a strike rate 124.49 and an average of 28.53. He was often the saving grace for his side in what turned out to be a very disappointing campaign for the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

2. Chris Gayle

One of the pillars of this RCB side, Chris Gayle is arguably the most successful T20 player of all time, let alone batsman. He has scored over 13,000 runs in T20 cricket and is one of the first players which spring to mind when you hear the words “T20” or “Explosive batting”. After a few disappointing campaigns with KKR, the Universe Boss was selected to replace an injured Dirk Nannes by Royal Challengers Bangalore after going unsold in the 2011 auction.

Gayle was an absolute game-changer for RCB. He scored 608 runs at a massive average of 67.55 and an enormous strike rate of 183.13 in just 12 matches as RCB reached the finals. He continued his destruction by scoring 733 and 705 in the next two seasons. He was awarded the Orange Cap for the 2011 and 2012 IPL seasons. He holds the record for the most number of 6s in the IPL, with 326 maximums under his belt.

With an individual score of 175 not out off 66 balls and a century reached in 30 balls, Gayle set records for the fastest century reached in any format of cricket, the highest individual score in a T20 match, and the most sixes scored in a single innings in the IPL. Gayle has scored 22 centuries in T20 cricket, 5 of which have come whilst donning the Red jersey of RCB. Overall, he scored 3420 runs for RCB and is the 2nd highest scoring overseas batsman in IPL history.

3. Virat Kohli

Talking of highest scoring batsman in IPL history and one has to look no further than the Indian captain. The flamboyant cricketer was the captain of the Indian team that won the 2008 ICC U19 Cricket World Cup and since then there has been no looking back for King Kohli. In 2008, Kohli was inducted in the RCB squad and started leading the side in the year 2013.

He is the only player to have played for the same team for each and every season of the IPL. Although Kohli hasn’t been able to inspire his team to earn the coveted IPL trophy, he has been very influential with the bat. With 5412 runs for RCB in the IPL, he is not only their all-time top scorer but is also the overall top scorer in IPL history. His 5412 runs have come at an average of 37.84 and a strike rate of 131.61 which is fantastic when you consider he started playing IPL cricket at the age of 19.

At the 2016 IPL, the Royal Challengers finished runners-up and Kohli broke the record for most runs in an IPL season (of 733 runs) by scoring 973 runs in 16 matches at an average of 81.08, winning the Orange Cap as well as Most Valuable Player Award. In the 2018 season, Kohli was retained by RCB for a price of 17 Crore INR, the highest for any player that year. Despite Rahul Dravid’s inclusion in this XI, Kohli will be leading the side.

4. AB De Villiers

After mentioning Gayle and Kohli, it would be a crime not to mention AB De Villiers. AB de Villiers is a 360-degree batsman who possesses hard-hitting skills and is an agile fielder that can put an acrobat to shame on the cricket field. On a good day, AB can single-handedly win you matches. He can switch from classical batting to playing more innovative strokes and that sets him apart from most batsmen in the world.

He had a one great season with Delhi Daredevils in 2009 and was bought by RCB in the 2011 player auction which kicked off the Gayle-Kohli-De Villiers era at the Chinnaswamy stadium. He has established himself as one of the most consistent as well as destructive batsmen in the IPL. He has scored more than 300+ in all but one campaign since joining the franchise. He is 9th on the list of highest scoring batsmen in IPL.

He has been a finisher par excellence, hitting a sublime hundred in Mumbai in 2015 and another in Bengaluru against Gujarat Lions in 2016. With Virat Kohli, AB has posted five 100+ partnerships for RCB and two 200+ partnerships, the only pair in the world to post two such partnerships. He made 687 runs in 2016, finishing third on the runs chart.

5. Jacques Kallis

Perhaps the greatest all-rounder of all time, Jacques Kallis’ stats in all forms of the game is something every young cricketer would die to achieve. He is the only cricketer in the history of the game to score more than 10,000 runs and take over 250 wickets in both ODI and Test match cricket. Kallis was already in his mid-30s when IPL began but he still managed to score 2000+ runs and pick up 50+ wickets before hanging up his boots.

Just like fellow veteran Rahul Dravid, he played for RCB from 2008 to 2010. During his stint with the Royal Challengers, “Kalahari” scored 1271 runs and picked up 30 wickets. He scored the runs at an average of 33.44 and still remains their 4th highest run-scorer, behind the trident of Gayle, Kohli and De Villiers. Surprisingly, Kallis has also bowled the most number of maiden overs (4) for Royal Challengers Bangalore.

His most prolific outing for RCB came in 2010. The Proteas all-rounder scored 572 runs at a solid average of 47.66, which included 6 half-centuries. He also contributed with his medium-fast bowling by dismissing 13 batsmen in the same season. Although he stopped playing IPL cricket 6 years ago, he is still the 24th highest run-scorer and the 36th highest wicket-taker in the league’s history.

6. Parthiv Patel

No batting line up can be perfect and while an explosive batsman such as Russell or Pollard should be coming in at this stage ideally, Parthiv Patel will be given the job of a finisher in this hypothetical line-up. Patel has played for a hot of IPL franchises over the course of his career. Apart from RCB, the Gujarat captain has also represented Chennai Super Kings, Kochi Tuskers Kerala, Deccan Chargers, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians.

In the 2014 IPL Player Auction, he was purchased by RCB. The Bangalore-based team traded him to Mumbai Indians ahead of IPL 2015. At the IPL 2018 Player Auction, RCB again went on to bid for him and bought him in their squad for the eleventh edition of the league. Parthiv Patel is has scored 731 runs for RCB and is their 3rd highest Indian run-scorer, more than the likes of KL Rahul, Yuvraj, Manish Pandey and Uthappa.

He is known to be most effective during the powerplay overs because he uses the pace of the new ball to clear the inner ring of fielders. He comes so low in this line up because of the amount of quality this team possesses at the top of the order. As he enjoys playing against pace bowlers, he could be capable of scoring some vital runs during the death overs.

7. Mitchell Starc

Royal Challengers Bangalore have been criticised for being over-reliant on their top order and this is prevalent in this line up as well. Mitchell Starc faced some competition from the likes of Dale Steyn for this position but his average and strike rate are far superior than the South African which gives him the edge. He has only played for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL.

In the 2014 Indian Premier League (IPL), he was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore and quickly became their key bowler in the IPL 2015 edition. After missing the beginning of the tournament with an injury, he came back and continued on with his good form from the World Cup. Overall, the Aussie speedster has picked up 34 wickets in 26 matches with an economy rate as low as 7.16.

In 2015, Starc was RCB’s talisman with the ball. He picked up 20 wickets in just 13 matches with a stingy economy rate of 6.76, mind-blowing strike rate of 12.90 and a brilliant average of 14.55. His best figures during that year were 4/15 against Kings XI Punjab. On 27 January 2018, he was bought for 9.4 crore INR by Kolkata Knight Riders but was ruled out due to injury.

8. Anil Kumble

With Jumbo’s inclusion, that completes another trio of players (Dravid, Kallis and Kumble) who played together at RCB for a certain period of time (2008-2010). RCB’s management decided to release two of these three players after the 2010 campaign but they’re still some of the best players to play for RCB. Despite playing only three seasons for the “Bold Army”, Kumble is their third-highest wicket-taker of all time.

In 2009, took a five-wicket haul conceding just 5 runs against the defending champions Rajasthan Royals. After the departure of Kevin Pietersen for international commitments, Kumble was named as the captain of the Royal Challengers. Though RCB could not win the tournament, Kumble ended as the most successful spin bowler and the 2nd highest wicket-taker of the tournament with 21 wickets at an economy rate of 5.86 runs per over.

He has taken a total of 53 wickets in 51 matches for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL and the CLT20. His economy rate of 6.65 during that period just goes to show how difficult it was to score runs off Kumble’s four overs. He has picked up 2 four-wicket hauls and 1 five-wicket haul in the IPL. After retirement, he joined RCB’s backroom staff as the chief mentor.

9. Zaheer Khan

Royal Challengers Bangalore fans have been fortunate enough to witness legends like Zaheer Khan, Dale Steyn and Anil Kumble ply their trade at the M Chinnaswamy stadium. Khan has played the Royal Challengers as well as Mumbai Indians before he was picked for the Delhi Daredevils in the 2015 auction. He has captained the Delhi Daredevils in 2016 and 2017.

Zak played for RCB in 2008 and from 2011-2013. In his four campaigns with the Bangalore-outfit, he picked up 49 wickets in 43 matches with a strike rate of 20.4 and at an average of 26.77. His best campaign in the IPL came while playing for RCB in 2012. The Maharashtra-born left-handed pacer picked up 17 wickets in the 2012 edition.

Although Zaheer’s best bowling figures (4/17) came in 2013, he just managed to play 2 matches and was released by Royal Challengers Bangalore after that campaign. In the 2017 season, while captaining Delhi Daredevils, Zaheer became the 10th bowler in the history and 8th Indian bowler, to pick 100 wickets in Indian Premier League.

10. Vinay Kumar

Vinay Kumar has been a stalwart for Karnataka cricket over the last decade. He captained Karnataka to two consecutive Ranji Trophy titles in 2013–14 and 2014–15 seasons. The medium-fast bowler has played for Kochi Tuskers Kerala, Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians in an illustrious IPL career, but his days came in an RCB shirt.

In his last season during his first stint with RCB, Kumar picked up 16 wickets with an impressive strike rate of 17.31. After a year with Kochi Tuskers Kerala, he returned to RCB and played some of his best cricket in the following two campaigns. He picked up 42 wickets in 2012 and 2013 combined and established himself as one of the top bowlers in the IPL.

He has taken 80 scalps during his time at the Royal Challengers, which puts him second on the list of highest wicket-taking bowlers for the side. He has also taken the 12th most wickets in the league’s history. Vinay Kumar has struggled since leaving RCB in 2013 and at 36, his days in the money-minting league are numbered.

11. Yuzvendra Chahal

Yuzvendra Chahal has been Royal Challengers Bangalore’s most consistent bowler over the years. Team India’s permanent wrist spinner in the limited-overs format, Yuzi Chahal became the first Indian bowler to pick up a five-wicket haul in T20Is. He became a part of the Mumbai Indians squad in 2011 and was a part of it in the Champions League T20 as well, where he starred for them in the final.

Chahal, who has been a part of RCB since 2014, has gone on to take 23 and 21 wickets in the 2015 and 2016 season of the league. He has picked up 10+ wickets in each and every season for RCB. His economy rate of 7.77 is fairly low for a leg spinner in today’s day and age. The leggie has also taken two 4-wicket hauls in his IPL career and his strike rate of 17.6 is bettered only by Mitchell Starc.

He has since gone on to establish himself as a bowler who beats the batsman with his variations and is Virat Kohli’s go-to-man in the RCB team. A match-winner on his day, Chahal has picked up 100 wickets in 83 matches so far. The Haryana-born spinner has also represented India internationally in chess at youth levels.