Royal Challengers Bangalore Team:

Royal Challengers Bangalore also referred to as RCB is a franchise, cricket team based in the city of Bangalore. Indian Premier League The team is owned by the business magnate Vijay Mallya, through his flagship firm UB Group. Brijesh Patel is the CEO of the RCB and Anil Kumble is the captain. Rahul Dravid is the team’s Icon Player, while Ray Jennings, the former South African coach, is the coach.

In IPL auction on 20 February 2008, the Bangalore team was won by Vijay Mallya, who paid US$111.6 million for it. This was the second highest bid for a team in the IPL, next only to Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries’ bid of $111.9 million for the Mumbai team. Bollywood actresses Katrina Kaif and Deepika Padukone, and Sandalwood film stars Ramya and Upendra are the brand ambassadors of the team.

Vijay Mallya wanted to associate one of his top-selling liquor brands, either No. 1 McDowell’s or Royal Challenge with the team. The latter was chosen, hence the name. The jersey colours of the team are red and golden yellow, the same as the Karnataka state flag, and the logo consists of the RC emblem with “Royal Challengers Bangalore” in standard format.

Captaincy:

Vijay Mallya has kept the captaincy options open. Minutes after picking up Kevin Pietersen at USD 1.55 million, Mallaya said he was happy with the price he got him at. “The captaincy options are open. The team management will take a decision on it.” The Royal Challengers, who finished second last the previous year, were led by Rahul Dravid. On 21 March 2009 Vijay Mallya announced that Kevin Pietersen was replacing Rahul Dravid as the team captain for the 2009 season. The reason given was Dravid’s absence in the league due to family related reasons. However many suspect that the change in captaincy is the result of the poor performance of the team in the first season of the Indian Premier League. On the 30th April 2009, Anil Kumble was named the captain of the team for the remaining games of the IPL Season 2, due to Kevin Pietersen’s absence to play for England against the West Indies. Since then performance of Bangalore Royal Challengers has been instrumental and the turnaround has been superb. The challengers have found great success under Kumble’s leadership and definitely are hoping for more in the 3rd Season

Theme Song:

The first theme song of Royal Challengers was Jeetenge Hum Shaan Se sung by Kunal Ganjawala and Sunidhi Chowhan. However another unofficial fanclub’s theme song called Thakkath Geete has been composed in support of the Red & Yellow team, with the help of TV9. However, the team anthem was created in 2009 by Rediffusion Y&R Bangalore and is called Game for More. The music video was directed by Sanjay Shetty and Vishal from Opticus Films, music was directed by Amit Trivedi (DEV.D and Aamir fame) and lyrics were penned by Anshu Sharma a.k.a. anshubaba from Rediffusion Y&R.

Players’ Profile:

1. Anil Kumble:

Major teams: India, Asia XI, Karnataka, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Surrey

Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Legbreak googly
T20 Record: 39 Matches, 12 catches and 42 wkts

2. Mark Boucher:

A man to go to war with, but never against, Mark Boucher packs all the archetypical attributes of the South African cricketer into his short, stocky frame. He is relentlessly competitive, invariably aggressive, and as hard and uncompromising as the new ball. He makes a point of, in his own words, “walking onto the field as if you own the place”.

3. Rahul Dravid:

Rahul Dravid, a cricketer who seamlessly blends an old-world classicism with a new-age professionalism, is the best No. 3 batsman to play for India – and might even be considered one of the best ever by the time his career is done. He already averages around 60 at that position, more than any regular No. 3 batsman in the game’s history, barring Don Bradman.

Major teams: India, Scotland, Asia XI, ICC World XI, Karnataka, Kent, Royal Challengers Bangalore

Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm offbreak
Fielding position: Occasional wicketkeeper
T20s Record: 39 Matches 826 runs, 75* high score and 6 catches

4. Dillon du Preez:

Dillon du Preez had one of the more interesting entries into the first-class game when he was forced to bowl for two days for Free State against the West Indies as the tourists amassed 618. The Port Elizabeth-born fast bowler didn’t lose faith, however, picking up 3 for 75 in 29 overs including Shivnarine Chanderpaul as his maiden wicket, bowled for 245.

Major teams: Eagles, Free State, Leicestershire, Royal Challengers Bangalore
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm fast-medium
T20s Record: 39 Matches, 324 runs and 42 wkts

5. Jacques Kallis:

In an era of fast scoring and high-octane entertainment, Jacques Kallis is a throwback – and an astonishingly effective one at that – to Test cricket’s more sedate age, when one’s wicket was a commodity to be guarded with one’s life, and runs were but an accidental by-product of crease occupation.

Major teams: South Africa, Africa XI, Cape Cobras, Glamorgan, ICC World XI, Middlesex, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Warriors, Western Province

Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm fast-medium
T20s Record: 49 Matches 1434 runs, 89* high score and 21 wkts

6. Virat Kohli:

Virat Kohli has already earned a reputation as a level-headed and mature cricketer. Batting at his favourite No. 4 position, he has a penchant for converting his fifties into big scores, as he showed in 2005 when he single-handedly took Delhi from 70 for 4 to a first-innings lead with 251 off 431 balls against Himachal Pradesh in the Under-17 championships.

Major teams: India, Delhi, India Red, India Under-19s, Royal Challengers Bangalore

Playing role: Lower middle order batsman
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm medium
T20s Record: 44 Matches 766 runs, 76 high score and 18 catches

7. Praveen Kumar:

Praveen Kumar had everything to become a domestic cricket legend: limited pace but ability to swing the ball both ways, persistence to bowl long spells, and an almost intuitive knowledge of how to take wickets on unresponsive Indian wickets.

Major teams: India, Air India, India Red, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Uttar Pradesh

Playing role: Bowler
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm medium
T20s Record: 41 Matches 293 runs, 76* high score and 41 wkts

8. Abhimanyu Mithun:

Abhimanyu Mithun spent his early teenage years striving for success in athletics and the discus throw, and didn’t bowl with a leather ball until he was 17. Three years later, after a successful Ranji debut season in 2009-10, the fast bowler had forced his way into the national squad for the Test series against South Africa.

Major teams: India, Karnataka, Karnataka XI, Royal Challengers Bangalore

Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm medium

9. Manish Pandey:

Manish Pandey will always be remembered as the first Indian to score a century in the IPL. In one night, the 19-year-old went from being Karnataka’s next big Ranji hope to entering the record books as he hit his way to the highest Twenty20 score by an Indian.

Major teams: Karnataka, Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore

Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm offbreak
T20S Record: 26 Matches 586 runs, 114* high score and 11 catches

10. Kevin Pietersen:

Kevin Pietersen’s career has verged on the extraordinary at every turn. From shunning the South African quota system, to returning to his homeland with three ODI centuries and securing the Ashes with his maiden Test ton.

Major teams: England, Hampshire, ICC World XI, KwaZulu-Natal, Natal, Nottinghamshire, Royal Challengers Bangalore

Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm offbreak
T20s Record: 43 Matches 1137 runs, 79 high score and 14 wkts

11. Dale Steyn:

Dale Steyn’s rise to national selection was rapid, being picked in the side for the first Test against England in December 2004 little more than a season after making his first-class debut. A genuinely fast, if slightly raw, bowler, who moves the ball away from right-handers, Steyn sprints to the wicket and hurls the ball down with aggression, and often follows with a snarl for the batsman.

Major teams: South Africa, Africa XI, Essex, Northerns, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Titans, Warwickshire

Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm fast
T20s Record: 50 Matches and 54 wkts

12. Ross Taylor:

Ross Taylor could be just what New Zealand need in the wake of the mass of departures from their batting line-up: an aggressive top-order batsman capable of taking up the challenge to world-class attacks. He made a flying start to the domestic 2005-06 season, with three centuries, and was soon in his country’s limited-overs side.

Major teams: New Zealand, Australian Capital Territory, Central Districts, Central Districts Under-19s, New Zealand Under-19s, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Victoria

Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm offbreak
T20s Record: 67 Matches 1885 runs, 111* high score and 8 wkts

13. Robin Uthappa:

Tall and robust Robin Uthappa, the son of Venu, an international hockey referee, scored heavily in the Ranji Trophy till he could not be kept out of the Indian one-day team any longer. Although his initial record in domestic cricket – a first-class average of 32 from 20 matches with just one hundred – was modest he plundered 854 runs in 7 Ranji matches in 2006-07 to top the batting charts.

Major teams: India, India Under-19s, Karnataka, Mumbai Indians, Reebok XI, Royal Challengers Bangalore
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm medium
T20s Record: 59 Matches 1166 runs 68* high score and 23 catches

14. Cameron White:

Fair-haired and level-headed, Cameron White has long seemed destined to play a significant role in Australia’s future. Only the precise nature of that role has baffled his admirers. Nagging legspinner? Aggressive middle-order bat? Intuitive skipper? Or a bit of all three? The over-eager Shane Warne comparisons that festooned his first-class arrival have long since died away.

Major teams: Australia, Australia A, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Somerset, Victoria

Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Legbreak googly
T20 Record: 62 Matches 1564 runs, 141* high score and 22 wkts

15. Roelof van Merwe:

With just a clutch of domestic and Under-19 matches to his credit, Roelof van der Merwe marked his Twenty20 international debut for South Africa with a quickfire 48 and 1 for 30. He was duly named Man of the Match. It marked a quick rise for a tidy left-arm spinner who can hit the ball hard.

Major teams: South Africa, Northerns, Royal Challengers Bangalore, South Africa Under-19s, Titans

Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Slow left-arm orthodox
T20s Record: 39 Matches 389 runs, 70* high score and 45 wkts