IPL 2021, Match 1: Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bangalore (MI vs RCB) - RCB Predicted XI

In the opening game of the IPL 2021, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will face the five-time IPL winners and defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) this Friday (9th April) at MA Chidambaram Stadium (Chepauk, Chennai).

The three-time IPL runners-up RCB are desperate to end their long wait for their first trophy and their first job in the IPL 2021 is to win the crucial season opener against Mumbai Indians.

IPL 2021, Match 1: Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bangalore (MI vs RCB) – RCB Predicted XI

Virat Kohli (C)

RCB captain Virat Kohli is the leading run-scorer in IPL history and the right-handed batsman is currently in excellent form. If we talk about his last five T20I innings, Kohli started with a duck but then he scored three unbeaten half-centuries. There is no doubt that he will be a very important batsman for RCB in the IPL 2021.

Devdutt Padikkal

As Devdutt Padikkal has reportedly got the COVID-19 negative report in the latest test, he is likely to feature the IPL 2021 opening match. While the IPL 2020 was his first IPL season, he was RCB’s leading run-scorer as he scored 473 runs in 15 matches, including five half-centuries.

AB de Villiers (wk)

Former South African star cricketer AB de Villiers is ready to start the new IPL season in a fresh way. In the IPL 2020, he was the third most run-scorer for RCB as he scored 454 runs in 14 innings with the help of five half-centuries. Though he hasn’t played any professional cricket since IPL 2020, he knows how to make a strong comeback.

Glenn Maxwell

Australian cricketer Glenn Maxwell has joined the RCB team for the IPL 2021. Though he is a highly rated limited-overs batsman, his recent IPL performances were not strong enough. So, it is going to be a crucial season for this Australian all-rounder in his IPL career.

Daniel Christian

Australian pace-bowling all-rounder Daniel Christian has played 40 IPL matches till 2018, but he hasn’t very impressive stats as he scored 446 runs and taken 34 wickets. Now, he has a great chance to re-structure his IPL career by performing well in the IPL 2021, especially when he recently performed well in the T20 leagues such as BBL 2020/21 and PSL 2021.

Suyash Prabhudessai

The 23-year-old cricketer Suyash Prabhudessai is a batting all-rounder who can also be used as the right-arm medium pacer. Though he hasn’t made his IPL debut yet, his recent performances as a middle-order batsman in domestic cricket were really good. As a middle-order batsman, he has the T20 strike rates of 148.13

Washington Sundar

Washington Sundar recently impressed with the bat in Test cricket. In T20 cricket, Sundar is an effective off-spinner who is really an economical off-spinner. But his lack of wicket-taking ability is now putting pressure on him and he needs to improve his performance as soon as possible.

Yuzvendra Chahal

The leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal is really an important bowler for RCB who is their most wicket-taker and he was also their most wicket-taker in the last season by picking up 21 wickets in 15 games. But recently he massively struggled as a bowler which can be a little concern for the RCB.

Kane Richardson

Australian pacer Kane Richardson hasn’t played an IPL match after the 2016 edition. In the recent BBL 2020/21, Richardson got 15 wickets in 11 matches for Melbourne Renegades. Recently, he also performed well for Australia during the away T20I series against New Zealand, where he took 7 wickets in five matches.

Navdeep Saini

The right-arm fast bowler Navdeep Saini is ready to make a fresh start as he recently got some rest from the game. In the last IPL season, Saini got only six wickets in 13 matches. Surely, he needs to improve his performance to stay in the playing XI.

Mohammed Siraj

The right-arm pacer Mohammed Siraj took 11 wickets in nine games in the last IPL season. Siraj was in very good form during the recent Test series in Australia. While he has got some good rest in recent times, he will start freshly in the IPL 2021.