IPL 2018 | We have lot of bowling options which we lacked in the past, says Virat Kohli

Royal Challengers Bangalore had always been a squad filled with superstars ever since its inception in 2008. With former owner Vijay Mallya’s taste for expensive pleasures ever-so evident in the team selection, the Bangalore squad has seen players like Chris Gayle, Brendon McCullum, Shane Watson, AB De Villiers, Mitchell Starc, and Virat Kohli be part of the team over the years. However, under the guidance of experienced Kiwi spinner Daniel Vettori, RCB have managed to put together a balanced side in order to get better results in the tournament.

Skipper Virat Kohli was the first to point out the improvement in the bowling department as compared to the batting line-up in this year’s squad. Kohli added that in the past he lacked the bowling options that he now had with bowlers like Chris Woakes, Umesh Yadav, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Washington Sundar and the fierce Yuzvendra Chahal.

"It's the start of a lot of things. Lot of things have changed from the past... specially with the way our team looks this year. I think it's very balanced. We have lot of bowling options which we lacked in the past. It's been a team dominated by batting and pushing us forward in the tournament but I think this time around we can bank on both sides equally which I think is a very good place to be in," Kohli said as quoted by Cricbuzz.

Gayle was always part of first team plans since he joined the team but was not retained by the management this time round. Kohli added that it was a hard decision to let Gayle go but it was something that was carefully calculated for the future of the team.

"He has done a great job for RCB over the past few years but looking at the team dynamics for the next three years, that was taken into contention before making this decision.

"You will be surprised to see our bowling dominating in this IPL. It will be a pleasant surprise for everyone to see RCB's bowling coming along nicely this season, and not just relying on batting," Kohli said. 

The skipper explained the need to also move away from a model that had increasingly become dependent on two or three players. This year’s squad is the result of careful planning by team leaders with the next three years in mind.

"The whole management and team, we thought infusing new people will give us the kind of balance we require. It will strengthen the areas we wanted to over the past few years. Taking nothing away from Chris... we decided to go in with the balance that can sustain in the next three years. We did not want to be relying on 2-3 people all the time and those were few reasons behind it," Kohli added.