Royal Challengers Bengaluru are gearing up to defend their title as the 19th season of the Indian Premier League gets underway on March 28. Led by Rajat Patidar, the franchise ended its long wait for a maiden
IPL trophy last season, defeating Punjab Kings in a thrilling, high-scoring final.
While it took them 19 years to lift the trophy, batting legend AB de Villiers believes that breaking the title drought could open the floodgates, and RCB might even clinch two or three titles in succession.
De Villiers was present at the Narendra Modi Stadium when RCB secured the trophy and celebrated alongside his former teammate Virat Kohli, who was visibly emotional after the final ball of the season.
With Kohli now playing only one format, having retired from Tests and T20Is, questions have arisen about whether he might be rusty.
However, De Villiers dismissed such concerns.
“First of all, he (Kohli) has the best work ethic I have ever seen in my life,” the former South African captain said on JioHotstar. “So, he will not enter the tournament undercooked. If he doesn’t perform, it will purely be down to form or perhaps a technical issue. I am expecting a great season from him. I can only imagine how hyped he must be after getting some well-deserved rest.”
De Villiers believes RCB are now in a position to compete for multiple trophies.
“Virat will most definitely be ready, there is no doubt about that, and RCB can actually go back-to-back. You will remember him often saying in the dressing room, ‘If we can win one, we are going to win two, three, four quickly,'” he said.
“I truly believe that. I feel RCB are in that zone now where they can go bang, bang, bang — perhaps two or three trophies in a row. Who knows? I am just hoping for a really strong start this season; that will be crucial for them. My advice to Virat would be to just go out there and enjoy,” he added.
RCB will kick off their title defense by hosting former champions Sunrisers Hyderabad on the opening day of the season.
