RCB have been a part of the Indian Premier League since the 2008 season, but they have not been able to win even a single championship. The Royal Challengers Bangalore have qualified for the final in three seasons. However, they ended up falling short on all three occasions.
A surprising stat emerged recently, which showed that only one Indian batter has scored more than 1,000 runs for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL history. He is none other than Virat Kohli, who has scored 7,000 runs alone for the team.
Not a single Indian batter could touch the 1,000-run mark. While some big names did underperform for the batter, there were a few other Indian talents whom Royal Challengers could have backed, but they did not. Here’s a list of four such names.
1. RCB retained Sarfaraz Khan over KL Rahul
In one of the most bizarre retentions in IPL history, Bangalore announced Sarfaraz Khan as their third retention alongside Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers ahead of the 2018 auction. They let go of KL Rahul, who then had the best years of his IPL career with Punjab Kings.
2. RCB let go of Robin Uthappa
Robin Uthappa recently retired from IPL. He played his last season in 2022 for the Chennai Super Kings. Uthappa was with Bangalore in 2009 and 2010. He played a major role in the team’s success, but Bangalore did not retain him ahead of the 2011 season.
3. Manish Pandey
Manish Pandey was the first-ever Indian centurion of IPL. He is not in the best form now, but there was a time when Pandey was one of the biggest match-winners in the league. He could have shouldered the Bangalore-based franchise’s middle-order.
4. Devdutt Padikkal
Devdutt Padikkal won the Emerging Player of the Season award in 2020. It looked like Bangalore had found their ‘next big thing’. However, Bangalore released him ahead of the 2022 season and did not go aggressively for him at the auction. Padikkal is now a part of the RR sqaud.
