Ravichandran Ashwin has backed the Royal Challengers Bengaluru to defend their title ahead of the 19th edition of the Indian Premier League. The former Indian spinner, while speaking on his YouTube channel, praised the RCB think tank for acquiring a balanced squad. The off-spinner made these comments after it became known that RCB’s star pacer from the previous season, Josh Hazlewood, would be missing the initial set of games in the upcoming season.
Ashwin lauded the RCB squad despite Hazlewood’s absence. The former Chennai Super Kings bowler talked about how winning the IPL is not easy. Having been an integral part of the CSK team that won the title in 2010 and defended its crown the following year, Ashwin knows about the efforts it takes to win back-to-back titles in the grand league.
Ravichandran Ashwin: RCB can add another title
While speaking on a video on his YouTube channel, Ashwin praised the defending champions for their squad. The former spinner believes that the Rajat Patidar-led side can win the trophy again in the next two years before the next mega auction. He said, “RCB can add another title in the next two years with this squad. Winning the IPL isn’t easy, but the building blocks they have, the kind of like-for-like replacements they have.”
The 39-year-old talked about how the RCB think tank has managed to fill out the possible gaps in the squad. Ashwin believes that with the set of players at their disposal, the defending champions could very well finish among the top two in the points table. “The way they have addressed the holes in the combination. This is a good package to finish in the top two,” he said on his YouTube channel.
Josh Hazlewood’s absence a blessing in disguise?
Josh Hazlewood’s absence for a set of initial games early in the season has been a talking point. The Australian pacer was unarguably RCB’s best bowler in the previous season as they ended their wait of 18 years to win the IPL trophy. The 35-year-old picked up 22 wickets in only 12 games in the season and bowled with a great deal of control.
However, Ashwin, while addressing Hazlewood’s absence, talked about how it could be a blessing in disguise for the defending champions. In his video, the former Indian spinner said, “In all honesty, this is a blessing in disguise for RCB. If RCB don’t have Hazlewood and they are concerned about Salt’s form, they can play both Salt and Bethell. And when Hazlewood returns, you will have a clearer picture.”
RCB Could Join CSK and MI
Royal Challengers Bengaluru could join Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians in a historic feat of winning back-to-back IPL titles. The two five-time champions have already achieved the feat in the past, but RCB, if they manage to win the trophy again in the upcoming season, could become the third team to defend their title.
Chennai Super Kings became the first team to win two IPL titles in a row in 2011 after winning in 2010. Mumbai Indians joined their arch-rivals on the achievement list by winning the title in 2019 and 2020.
