Royal Challengers Bangalore In IPL 2023: Preview, Strongest XI, Schedule - All You Need To Know

The 16th edition of Indian Premier League will kick-start from Friday with defending champions Gujarat Titans taking on four-time winners Chennai Super Kings, at the Narendra Modi Stadium. With new season, Royal Challengers Bangalore will be in search of their first-ever title, as they take on Mumbai Indians in the opening match. The Faf du Plessis-led side had a decent outing in the previous season, where they won eight out of 14 matches. RCB entered the playoffs and defeated Lucknow Super Giants by 14 runs in the Eliminator. However, their happiness could not last long as they faced a seven-wicket defeat against Rajasthan Royals in Qualifier 2 and lost another big opportunity of claiming the coveted trophy.

The major strength of RCB in the previous season was their skipper du Plessis, who smashed a whopping total of 468 runs in 16 matches, laced with three half-centuries and a highest score of 96. Apart from him, Sri Lanka spinner Wanindu Hasaranga turned out to be the biggest positive for the Bengaluru-based franchise as he scalped 26 wickets, including a five-wicket haul and became the second-highest wickettaker of the season.

As IPL 2023 has brought back the concept of home and away matches, the return of RCB to their home ground at M Chinnaswamy stadium will also be a big plus point for their former skipper Virat Kohli, who battled through his lean patch last year, and is currently in a lethal form.

However, there are some injury concerns that can be a big issue for RCB. Some reports have predicted that young batter Rajat Patidar is likely to miss the first half of the season due to a heel injury. He is currently undergoing rehab at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru and has been advised to take rest