India’s biggest festival will begin on April 9 as cricket fans across the globe will enjoy one of the biggest leagues, the Indian Premier League (IPL). This will be the 14th edition of the cricketing extravaganza, which will open with a blockbuster encounter between teams led by the Indian cricket team skipper and his limited-overs deputy. One is the most successful team in the tournament’s history and the other has never lifted the IPL trophy – it’s Mumbai Indians against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).

Also Read | IPL 2021: Steve Smith speaks in Hindi and names his favourite Indian dish

Bangalore are one of the strongest teams on paper with players like ‘Run Machine’ Virat Kohli, ‘Mr. 360’ AB de Villiers, and others, who are equally proficient at taking the game away from their opponents in no time. But, in the last 13 seasons, RCB has reached the finals three times but has failed to lift the trophy even once.

With RCB reaching yet another Playoffs last season, will the momentum in 2021 make a difference? If yes then who will make it happen?

Also Read | IPL 2021: Rohit Sharma, Zaheer Khan back Piyush Chawla’s role in Mumbai Indians

These 5 are the players to look out for who can take RCB across the line: 

• Virat Kohli: A batting average of over 50 and the kind of form Virat Kohli displayed in the recently-concluded England’s tour of India shows the momentum and form the skipper is in right now. Kohli became the man of the series in the T20s by scoring the highest runs.

• AB de Villiers: Mr. 360, AB de Villiers is one of the most valuable players for the Bangalore team. The South African wicket-keeper batsman one of the most sensational players this generation has ever seen. As there was some question on Kohli’s form in IPL 2020, ABD single-handedly took his team into the playoffs.
• Glenn Maxwell: ‘Million Dollar Baby’, Bangalore bought Maxwell for Rs 14.25 crore in the 2021 auction. The Australian all-rounder has played for quite a few teams in his IPL career and has had a mixed IPL career so far. Maxwell had a horrible season for Punjab in 2020, but on his day he can take a match away single-handedly.
• Devdutt Padikkal: The talented youngster from Karnataka debuted for RCB last year. An explosive opening batsman, Padikkal had a dream debut season, scoring 473 runs and becoming the highest run-scorer for RCB. Devdutt will miss the first few matches of IPL 2021 as he tested positive for COVID-19 and still recovering from it.
• Kyle Jamieson: Kyle will be making his IPL debut with RCB in 2021. The right-hand medium-fast bowler from New Zealand delivered a clinical test performance, he took 36 wickets in 6 matches. This addition to the team can make a difference in the bowling department.