In the game against Lucknow Super Giants, Royal Challengers Bengaluru pulled off something that was hitherto unknown to the armchair viewers and ‘experts’ across the length and breadth of the country. Chasing 228 for victory, they were 123/4 in the 12th over, and it was time to send an ‘equerry’ to collect data from Mumbai Indians’ practice session. That was the old RCB, over-reliant on Galacticos. Things have changed this term.
Jitesh Sharma won the game for RCB, playing arguably the innings (85 not out off 33 balls) of the tournament yet. The TV camera panned on Virat Kohli. Indian sports broadcasting still remains a prisoner of star culture. From RCB’s perspective, they refreshingly have gotten over it.
Jitesh’s mauling of the LSG bowling — never mind Digvesh Rathi, cricket is not played that way — allowed his team a second bite at the cherry. Mind raced back to 2024, when RCB, on the back of a six-game winning run, had stumbled at the Eliminator. Once Cameron Green got out in the 13th over, it was pretty downhill for them.
Rewind to the 2016 IPL final and RCB’s spectacular collapse that saw them lose the game against Sunrisers Hyderabad by eight runs. Chasing 209 for victory, they were 114 for no loss in the 11th over. Then, Chris Gayle, Kohli and AB de Villiers got out, and RCB failed to get over the line.
Right from the first edition of the IPL, RCB revelled in assembling batting stardust. In the inaugural season, they had the likes of Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis, Misbah-ul-Haq, Ross Taylor, Mark Boucher and Shivnarine Chanderpaul. After the auction, Vijay Mallya, then franchise owner, got a call from a friend, congratulating him for picking a good “Test team”. Gradually, RCB became a ‘Kohli (only) side’, with the rest being incidental.
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The former captain still remains the franchise’s biggest brand, but under Mo Bobat, the director of cricket, and Dinesh Karthik, team mentor, RCB finally have stepped out of the shadow of their talisman.
From Phil Salt to Rajat Patidar, Jitesh and Krunal Pandya; RCB have been singing the merry song of the collective this season. Picking high-impact players at the auction was a tactical masterstroke.
The biggest advantage that teams have these days is that young Indian players are no longer in awe of the superstars in the dressing room. From Ayush Mhatre at Chennai Super Kings to Priyansh Arya at Punjab Kings and Jitesh (not quite young but relatively inexperienced) at RCB, ‘new India’ is thriving on the irreverence of youth. These players back their ability and are ready to take responsibility. This has contributed to a paradigm shift in RCB’s team culture.
“When Virat bhai was out, I was just thinking of taking it deep,” Jitesh told the host broadcaster after his match-winning knock against LSG. “As my mentor and guru Dinesh (Karthik) anna says, just take it deep.”
The stand-in skipper stood up to be counted, braving cramps. This is the new RCB, where challenge is embraced even by the youngest member of the squad. No wonder that the ‘Ee sala…’ chant is growing louder.
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