Faf du Plessis-led Team Bangalore eye maiden Indian T20 League title

Team Bangalore will look to make a fresh start under new captain Faf du Plessis in the Indian T20 League 2022 starting March 26.

Bangalore had an impressive campaign in the previous edition of the tournament, finishing third in the league phase with 18 points from 14 matches before being knocked out by Kolkata in the Eliminator.

Soon after the conclusion of Indian T20 League 2021 in UAE, Virat Kohli decided to step down as the captain of the Bangalore-based franchise, citing managing his heavy workload.

Kohli’s reign as captain of Team Bangalore will be judged as a mixed one, having failed to lift the coveted Indian T20 League title in 14 editions. However, the franchise reached the Indian T20 League final on three occasions in 2009, 2011 and 2016. 

Ahead of the new season, the Bangalore team management roped in quality domestic and international stars to build a strong squad for the next three years. 

With new captain Faf du Plessis at the helm, Team Bangalore will look to rewrite history and here we analyze what they have in the offering for the 2022 season.

Team Bangalore squad

Ahead of the Indian T20 League 2022 mega auction, Team Bangalore retained former skipper Virat Kohli (INR 15 crore), Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell (INR 11 crore) and pacer Mohammed Siraj for the next three seasons of the tournament. 

In the two-day mega auction held in Bengaluru last month, the Bangalore team management spent a whopping INR 10.75 crore to buy back Harshal Patel. The franchise also brought back in-form Sri Lanka all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga for INR 10.75 crore.

Team Bangalore also roped in former Chennai duo Faf du Plessis (INR 7 crore) and Australia fast bowler Josh Hazlewood (7.75 crore) as well as ex-Kolkata captain Dinesh Karthik (INR 5.5 crore). West Indies’ Sherfane Rutherford (1 crore), New Zealand batter Finn Allen (80 lakh) and Aussie pacer Jason Behrendorff (75 lakh) are a few other noteworthy additions that they made to their squad ahead of the new season. 

Among domestic stars, the franchise spent INR 3.4 crore for wicket-keeper batter Anuj Rawat and INR 2.4 crore for all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed.

Team Bangalore squad for Indian T20 League 2022: Faf du Plessis (captain), Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Mohammed Siraj, Harshal Patel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Josh Hazlewood, Shahbaz Ahmed, Anuj Rawat (wicket-keeper), Akash Deep, Mahipal Lomror, Finn Allen, Sherfane Rutherford, Jason Behrendorff, Suyash Prabhudessai, Chama Milind, Aneeshwar Gautam, Karn Sharma, David Willey, Luvnith Sisodia, Siddharth Kaul

Team Bangalore strengths and weaknesses

Strengths

With Virat Kohli deciding to relinquish his captaincy, Kohli can play his natural game with the bat. An in-form Kohli can destroy any bowling attack on his day and he holds the record for most runs in Indian T20 League’s history. Apart from Kohli, an explosive Glenn Maxwell, a consistent Faf du Plessis and the experienced Dinesh Karthik will look to set daunting targets or chase any total on the board.

Team Bangalore also possess a quality fast-bowling attack with the likes of  Josh Hazlewood, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Josh Hazlewood and David Willey in their ranks.

Weaknesses

With former Bangalore star batter AB de Villiers retiring from all forms of cricket, the franchise will miss a player who can score at a quick rate and play the role of a finisher. The Bangalore middle-order also seems to be a little inexperienced and could choke when there will be more pressure in close match situations.

Who can be the highest run-scorer for Team Bangalore?

Having relinquished captaincy of Team Bangalore, former skipper Virat Kohli can just concentrate on his batting in the upcoming edition of the Indian T20 League. Kohli had a decent campaign in Indian T20 League 2021, scoring 405 runs in 15 matches including hitting three fifties in the tournament. 

Kohli is currently the all-time leading run-scorer in Indian T20 League history, amassing 6,283 runs in 207 matches at an average of 37.39 and a strike rate of 129.94. He has hit five hundreds and 42 fifties in his Indian T20 League career so far. Considering there will be less burden on Kohli’s shoulder this season, the former India captain can express himself with the bat and play a pivotal role for Bangalore in the upcoming campaign.

Who can be the highest wicket-taker for Team Bangalore?

Bangalore fast bowler Harshal Patel was the highest wicket-taker in the previous edition of Indian T20 League held in India and UAE. Having won the coveted Purple Cap, Patel picked 32 wickets in 15 matches at an economy of 8.14. By doing so, he equalled Team Chennai pacer Dwayne Bravo’s record of most wickets in an Indian T20 League season. Bravo had also claimed 32 wickets in 18 matches in the 2013 edition of the Indian T20 League. Having already made his T20I debut for India against New Zealand in November last year, an experienced Harshal will be the go-to-bowler for the Faf du Plessis-led side.

Where will Team Bangalore finish in Indian T20 League 2022?

With Bangalore missing the services of their star batter AB de Villiers this season, the franchise will depend heavily on Kohli, du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell to do the bulk of the scoring. If the trio can find good form, Team Bangalore could make it to the play-offs in the upcoming edition of Indian T20 League.

Bangalore Indian T20 League 2022 schedule, fixtures and match times

All times are in India Standard Time (IST)

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Featured photo: AFP/ Manjunath KIRAN / DIBYANGSHU SARKAR