IPL 2018 | There is a genuine buzz around the 2018 RCB squad, says AB de Villiers

Flamboyant ex-owner Vijay Mallya, who co-founded the Bangalore-based franchise which would be called ‘Royal Challengers Bangalore’ did not have much knowledge about cricket, but he sure knew how to entertain the crowds. A star-studded squad and the biggest names in International cricket was something that RCB emulated over the seasons. But success has eluded the Virat Kohli-led outfit over the years where they have managed to reach the finals on three occasions but failed to lift the IPL trophy all three times.

But RCB superstar AB de Villiers claimed things were different this time around though, as the expectations from fans and the general public were at an all-time high ahead of the season opener against Kolkata Knight Riders. 

"There is a genuine buzz around the 2018 RCB squad that I didn't hear last season. The team bus was quiet on the drive back to the hotel after the game. We know we paid a heavy price for our mistakes in Kolkata, but we were playing against a powerful and well-balanced KKR team with players in form, and we stayed in the fight. 

"We are being well coached and managed. In cricket, warm-ups are usually run by a fitness instructor but, at RCB this year, each player is allowed to plan his own warm-up; he can have a hit in the nets, have a stretch, do some fielding, whatever. The coaches are around to help each of us do exactly what we want to do. It's a first, and I love it," de Villiers wrote for TOI.

De Villiers added that even though the loss in their first match was disappointing, Vettori assured the team that there were a lot of positives to be taken from their display especially as far as their batting was concerned.

"Dan Vettori pulled me to one side after Sunday's opening defeat against KKR at Eden Gardens. The RCB coach was disappointed with the result, but he wanted me to know he had seen plenty of positives in our performance and he felt optimistic about our prospects. Dan is a coach who says what he means and means what he says. I agree with him.

"We understand Virat and I should not have been dismissed in successive balls when we appeared to be going well and when one of us really needed to carry on and get to 70 or 80, and we also realise we needed to find a way of preventing Sunil Narine from getting KKR off to yet another flyer. But what's done is done and, as Dan said, there were upsides," wrote De Villiers, who is RCB's third-highest run-getter with 2877 from 94 innings.