Royal Challengers Bangalore or RCB have been one of IPL’s most celebrated franchises. It has a very strong, vocal, and loyal fan base that has stood steadfastly behind them. Unfortunately, RCB is yet to lift their first trophy. To achieve their target, RCB has spent heavily over the years to bring in the best names. Some of their bets have worked. Players like Gayle, Kohli, and De Villiers have paid a rich dividend through their performances.
However, some big buys have not turned given the anticipated returns. We look at 5 such players.
Dale Steyn
Steyn was picked up by RCB in the inaugural season of IPL. He played with them till 2010, thereafter he moved to Hyderabad. Steyn again came back to RCB for the 2019 and 2020 seasons. However, his 2009 and 2020 seasons were horrendous. In 2009, he could manage to play only 3 matches before injuring his thumb. He picked 3 wickets that season. Similarly, he played 3 matches in 2020 before injuring himself. He picked a solitary wicket in 2020. He achieved great success when playing in Hyderabad.
Iqbal Abdulla
A lesser-known name in a tournament full of superstars. He was an important part of KKR from 2008 till 2013, and helped them lift the trophy in 2012. He picked up an astounding 16 wickets in the 2011 season. However, he played for RCB between 2015-17 but could not replicate his KKR exploits. He managed to pick just 2 wickets in 2017 and 6 wickets in 2016. He stopped getting games in the 2017 season and was eventually released.
Kedar Jadhav
He was picked by RCB in 2016 and played for two seasons. In his 4 matches that he played for RCB in 016, he could manage a paltry 42 runs in total and did not pick up a wicket. He was released by RCB in 218 and moved to CSK where he became a part of the core team.
Robin Uthappa
Before earning his glory in KKR, Uthappa played for RCB in 2009-2010. In the 2009 season, he scored a mere 175 runs from his 15 matches at a poor average of 16. He subsequently moved to KKR from 2014-2019 and scored above 350 in 5 out of the 6 seasons. He clocked a humungous 660 in the 2014 season.
Bhuvaneshwar Kumar
Before Bhuvi became an IPL legend in SRH, he played for RCB between 2009-2010. His performances cannot be put in figures since he never got a game with RCB. He was on the bench for the entire season. After moving to SRH, he became a death bowling expert and went onto win the purple cap in 2016 with 23 wickets. He repeated that again in 2017 with 26 wickets.
