The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have been a prominent franchise in the Indian Premier League, qualifying for playoffs on multiple occasions and reaching the finals thrice. Despite not securing a championship title, RCB enjoys a vast fanbase globally, with renowned cricketers like Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Chris Gayle, Dale Steyn, Faf du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell, Daniel Vettori, and others having represented the team at some point in their careers.
While several players have found success after joining RCB, some have struggled post their tenure with the franchise. Here are three such players:
Devdutt Padikkal, a left-handed batter, made his IPL debut with RCB in 2020, earning the Emerging Player of the Season award and smashing his maiden IPL ton in 2021. However, since moving to Rajasthan Royals (RR) in 2022, he has struggled due to not being utilized as an opener, with his batting average dropping from 31.57 to 21.85. Although reports suggested that RR may release Padikkal before IPL 2023, the franchise decided to retain him.
Former New Zealand batter Ross Taylor was a match-winner for RCB in the early IPL seasons, scoring 517 runs at a strike rate of 142.03 in 22 matches from 2008 to 2010. However, RCB released him before the 2011 Mega Auction, and his IPL career never quite reached the same heights. Taylor played for Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Daredevils (DD), and Pune Warriors from 2011 to 2014, with only one half-century and an average of less than 20.
Kedar Jadhav played for RCB in 2017, scoring 267 runs at a strike rate of 143.55 that season, with his highest score being 69. However, RCB released him before the IPL 2018 Auction, and he was signed by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for the next three seasons. Unfortunately, Jadhav struggled to make an impact in IPL 2018 due to an injury and scored only a solitary half-ton in 22 matches for CSK in 2019 and 2020, with a strike rate of less than 100.
