Can Royal Challengers Bangalore shed the tag of perennial underachievers? RCB will play six of their seven home matches in the first four weeks of the competition and Faf du Plessis and his men will be keen to cash in on the early home advantage...
STRENGTH: Top-order batting. Virat Kohli's recent return to form augurs well. With Glenn Maxwell likely to be fit, the stars seem to have aligned.
WEAKNESS: Middle-order batting and death-overs bowling. RCB also need their battery of domestic bowlers to back pacemen Mohammed Siraj and Harshal Patel.
OPPORTUNITY: In Josh Hazlewood's absence, focus is on England's left-arm seamer Reece Topley to deliver with the new ball. Watch out also for Avinash Singh, the new pacer from J&K.
THREAT: The spin department, especially in home conditions. Wanindu Hasaranga and Shahbaz Ahmed are the top picks.
KEY PLAYERS:
Virat Kohli: Having rediscovered his mojo, his form will be crucial for the team.
Faf du Plessis: The Proteas stalwart led from the front in the previous season and emerged the highest run-getter with 468 runs.
Mohammed Siraj: In Hazlewood's absence, the pacer will have to up his game, especially at the death.
NEW PLAYERS TO WATCH OUT FOR:
Avinash Singh: The former tennis-ball cricketer from Jammu and Kashmir is untested but could be RCB's surprise package.
Reece Topley: The left-arm pacer from England will be a vital cog in RCB's foreign-player line-up.
INJURY WATCH
England allrounder Will Jacks is ruled out. Pace ace Josh Hazlewood and batter Rajat Patidar will miss the initial phase.
