3 min read Last Updated : Feb 21 2024 | 3:53 PM IST
The Royal Challengers Bangalore, led by India’s finest better Smiriti Mandhana, will be looking to overcome a horrid last season when they open their campaign against UP Warriors on Saturday, February 14 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
Strength
A batting-heavy team, RCB will enjoy their outing in front of their home crowd at the M Chinnswamy. With a fast outfield, smaller boundaries and batting-friendly wicket, the likes of Mandhana, Ellyse Perry and Heather Knight, will be looking to make merry in the first half of the league.
Richa Ghosh, who has been in stunning form of late, hitting crucial runs against Australi and England in the home season preceding the WPL, will be the MVP for the Bengaluru side.
RCB WPL 2024 Schedule
Match No.
Date
Day
Match
Time (IST)
Venue
1
February 24, 2024
Saturday
RCB V UP
19:30
M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
2
February 27, 2024
Tuesday
RCB V GG
19:30
M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
3
February 29, 2024
Thursday
RCB V DC
19:30
M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
4
March 2, 2024
Saturday
RCB V MI
19:30
M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
5
March 4, 2024
Monday
UP V RCB
19:30
Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi
6
March 6, 2024
Wednesday
GG V RCB
19:30
Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi
7
March 10, 2024
Sunday
DC V RCB
19:30
Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi
8
March 12, 2024
Tuesday
MI V RCB
19:30
Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi
Weakness
The RCB side be it men or women have had the problem of bowlers not clicking. In the last season, the Mandhana-led side was unable to stop the other team from chasing the targets down. Renuka Singh Thakur, Perry and experienced spinner Ekta Bisah, who was signed up by the team in the auction in 2023, will be key to the team’s performance. They must turn the tables around if RCB are to improve their showing.
RCB player and their salary
Player name
Salary (rupees)
Ekta Bisht
60 Lakh
Georgia Wareham
40 Lakh
Kate Cross
30 Lakh
Simran Bahadur
30 Lakh
S Meghana
30 Lakh
Shubha Satheesh
10 Lakh
Sophie Molineux
30 Lakh
Asha Shobana
10 Lakh
Disha Kasat
10 Lakh
Ellyse Perry
1.7 Crore
Heather Knight
40 Lakh
Indrani Roy
10 Lakh
Kanika Ahuja
35 Lakh
Renuka Singh
1.5 Crore
Richa Ghosh
1.9 Crore
Shreyanka Patil
10 lakh
Smriti Mandhana
3.4 Crore
Sophie Devine
50 lakh
Opportunity
The biggest opportunity in front of RCB is to play in front of their home crowd, the first leg of the WPL is being held in Bengaluru. They will have the backing of the intelligent Benguliuru cricket crowd and with the phenomenal talent they have up their sleeves, it's the biggest opportunity to make sure that they reach the playoffs, before going to Delhi for the second leg.
Threat
The threat for the RCB women is the lack of quality homegrown players. Apart from Mandhana, Bisht, Ghosh and Renuka, there is no one that they can say is a game-winner. The likes of Kanika Ahuja, Indrani Roy S Meghana and Shubha Satheesh would have to step up, or else the team would be in problems much like last season.