Royal Challengers Bangalore's First-Ever Playing XI- Where Are They Now?

Royal Challengers Bangalore took on Kolkata Knight Riders in the first-ever IPL game way back in 2008. The game became a trendsetter as it launched the IPL from where it never looked back. Kolkata with time went on to win two IPL titles under Gautam Gambhir, while Bangalore has undergone massive changes with Virat Kohli only the player remaining with the team from that 2008 squad.

Bangalore succumbed to a heavy defeat against KKR who piled up 222 runs courtesy of Brendon McCullum’s unbeaten 158. A cumulative performance from the KKR bowlers saw Banglore being bowled out for 82. Kolkata won the game by a massive 140-run margin as the IPL became a phenomenon.

Meanwhile, in this article, we take a look at RCB’s first-ever playing XI and where are they now all these years later.

Royal Challengers Bangalore’s First-Ever Playing XI- Where Are They Now?

Rahul Dravid

Interestingly, Rahul Dravid opened the batting for Bangalore and even led the team that season. He was dismissed for just two runs by Ishant Sharma. All these years later, Dravid is now the head coach of the Indian cricket team and Ishant is one of his prime pacers. He now has the onus of coaching his team to a series win against the Proteas.

Wasim Jaffer

Jaffer opened the batting alongside Dravid. He scored just six off 16 balls for his side. Years after retirement Jaffer has stayed connected with the game and remains very active on social media. He is now the batting coach of Punjab Kings and an expert across various media portals. He follows Indian cricket closely and is not afraid to voice his opinion on the game.

Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli walked in at number three and scored just once in the match. Years later, he is now the captain of the Indian Test team and one of the most established players in the game. He also led the side between 2013-2021 and has been retained ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auctions. He is no more the skipper for India in the white-ball formats.

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Jacques Kallis

Kallis started his IPL career with RCB and then switched for Royal Challengers Bangalore and then switched for KKR where he played for 2014 and 2015 seasons. He then took over as the head coach of KKR from 2016 to 2019 before giving up on the role after the 2019 season. Under Kallis and Simon Katich, KKR won 32 of their 61 games. Kallis is now enjoying his retirement from the game.

Cameron White

While was a part of RCB’s first-ever playing XI and was one of the four overseas players in the line-up. He scored 6 off 10 balls. He played later on for Sunrisers Hyderabad as well before going into oblivion in international cricket.

White made his international debut for Australia in 2005 but did not get many opportunities thereafter. In August 2020, White announced his retirement from professional cricket.

Mark Boucher

Boucher scored just seven runs for Royal Challengers Bangalore as they were bowled out for a paltry 82. All these years later he finds himself as the coach of the Indian team with his teammate Rahul Dravid as the coach of the opposition team. Both teams are currently fighting it out in the Test series.

Balachandra Akhil

The Karnataka cricketer hardly got a game after the first against KKR. Akhil played for Karnataka from 1998-2009 and was more than a handy all-rounder for Karnataka in the domestic circuit. Despite consistent performances in the domestic circuit, Akhil never got a chance to represent India in the international arena.

Ashley Noffke

The Australian cricketer just played one game in his IPL career which was Royal Challengers Bangalore’s first-ever IPL XI. He bowled an expensive spell of 40 runs from his four overs while scoring just 9 runs with the bat.

He played one ODI and two T20Is for his national side announcing his international retirement in 2020. He is currently the assistant coach of Queensland Bulls in the Australian domestic circuit.

Praveen Kumar

Praveen Kumar played for RCB and Mumbai Indians in the IPL. He made his international debut for India in 2007 and was one of the best exponents of swing bowling. He was a part of the Indian team across formats consistently till 2012. In October 2018, he announced his retirement from all forms of cricket after playing at the highest level for several years.

Zaheer Khan

The former Indian pacer played for RCB, Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals in the IPL, besides having a glorious career for the Indian cricket team. He announced his retirement from the game in 2014 and is now the Director of Cricket Operations with Mumbai Indians in the IPL.

Sunil Joshi

Former Indian cricketer Sunil Joshi is the final player who was a part of Royal Challengers Bangalore’s playing XI back in 2008. He made his debut for India in 1996 and retired from the game in 2011.

Also Read: Kolkata Knight Riders??? First-Ever Playing XI- Where Are They Now?