Former Indian batter Sanjay Manjkrear feels Royal Challengers Bangalore has the best bowling attack in the upcoming IPL 2023 and believes it will be their X-factor. RCB has bowlers like Josh Hazlewood, Reece Topley, David Willey, Harshal Patel, and Mohammed Siraj.
Topley was roped in for INR 1.90 crores in IPL 2023 auction and he is known for his T20 bowling. Furthermore, they have spinners like Wanindu Hasaranga and Karn Sharma. Moreover, Glenn Maxwell can roll his arm over the Faf du Plessis-led team.
“Their pace bowling has depth. Even if Hazlewood is not fit, then they have Topley. In spin, they have Wanindu Hasaranga. They have Mohammed Siraj and Harshal Patel. Their bowling is perfect and even Maxwell can bowl,” said Manjrekar to Star Sports.
“In this IPL, according to me, the best bowling attack belongs to RCB and that is their combined X-factor,” Manjrekar added.
Meanwhile, RCB had qualified for the playoff stages in the previous season of the IPL but they lost to Rajasthan Royals in the second qualifier. The Bengaluru-based franchise has a lot of firepower in their squad and it would be about executing their plans and skills in the crunch situations of the game.
On the other hand, RCB has batters like Glenn Maxwell, Virat Kohli, Michael Bracewell, and Finn Allen in their ranks, who can help them go all the way. RCB will open their campaign with a home game against Mumbai Indians, before facing Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens on April 6.
RCB IPL 2023 SQUAD
Wicketkeepers: Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik.
Batters: Faf du Plessis (SA), Finn Allen (NZ), Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Suyash Prabhudessai, Will Jacks (ENG).
All-rounders: Wanindu Hasaranga (SL), Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Maxwell (AUS), Shahbaz Ahmed, Sonu Yadav, Manoj Bhandage.
Bowlers: Akash Deep, Josh Hazlewood (AUS), Siddarth Kaul, Mohammed Siraj, Harshal Patel, Karn Sharma, David Willey (ENG), Avinash Singh, Rajan Kumar, Reece Topley (ENG), Himanshu Sharma.