Betfacts / Andrew Hughes / 14 April 2009 /

The addition of Kevin Pietersen should add some bite to the Bangalore Royal Challengers' batting but can they improve on last year's feeble showing?

Performance Last Year

Ouch! It wasn't supposed to be like that. Vijay Mallya recruited a string of high profile international Test batsmen. Unfortunately, they didn't prove to have the skills for Twenty20. Chanderpaul, Kallis, Dravid and Jaffer all flopped. Only Ross Taylor delivered and he played just four games. The feeble batting was matched by some toothless bowling and the insipid captaincy of Dravid didn't help matters. The 'Royally Challenged' as they became known, finished seventh out of eight.

Captain

Kevin Pietersen initially, then Jacques Kallis.

Three Key Players

Pietersen will be under pressure to deliver in the short time he is available, but there is no doubt that he is capable of winning matches on his own. The international batsmen will have to be rotated, which means that talented Indian youngster Robin Uthappa will play every game at the top of the order and he needs to give the innings a jump start. In the bowling department, it looks like Dale Steyn will once again have to shoulder the load but in his home country, will be expected to do better than in 2008.

Strengths

The signings of Pietersen, Uthappa and Jesse Ryder should go a long way to addressing the lack of batting firepower that was apparent last time. The presence of five South Africans in their squad is seen as an advantage by many, though this may be overplayed as a factor.

Weaknesses

The bowling looks painfully weak. They have lost Anil Kumble and Zaheer Khan and whilst Nathan Bracken is a good signing, he will be on international duty for much of the tournament. Steyn will certainly have his work cut out. And the split captaincy could be an unsettling factor, particularly with the deposed Dravid lingering in the squad.

Prospects

Bangalore are currently available at [7.6] in the winners market, which looks short. Though their batting is undeniably stronger this time, the bowling department is a significant concern. And the decision to appoint Pietersen captain, whilst making commercial sense, has little cricketing evidence to recommend it. He was out of his depth as England skipper and in a country where a large majority of cricket fans and most of the cricket media will be keen for him to fall flat on his face, the pressure of captaincy could well detract from his batting performance.

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