Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), officially Royal Challengers Bengaluru, is an Indian professional franchise women's cricket team that competes in the Women's Premier League (WPL), based in Bangalore, Karnataka. The team is owned by United Spirits, who also owns the men's team. The team is coached by Luke Williams and captained by Smriti Mandhana. The franchise won the 2nd season of the Women's Premier League defeating Delhi Capitals in the final.
 | ||
| Nickname(s) | RCB | |
|---|---|---|
| League | Women's Premier League | |
| Personnel | ||
| Captain | Smriti Mandhana | |
| Coach | Luke Williams | |
| Owner | United Spirits | |
| Team information | ||
| City | Bangalore, Karnataka | |
| Colours | Red, gold and black | |
| Established | January 2023 | |
| Home ground | M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore | |
| Capacity | 33,800 | |
| History | ||
| Twenty20 debut | v. Delhi Capitals at Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai; 5 March 2023 | |
| WPL wins | 1 (2024) | |
| Official website | Royal Challengers | |
| ||
| United Spirits | |
|---|---|
| Current teams | |
| Royal Challengers Bangalore (2008–present) Royal Challengers Bangalore (WPL) (2023–present)  X 1 (2024) |
| Royal Challengers Bangalore active departments | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Football (men's) |
 Football (women's) |
 Basketball (men's) |
 Futsal (men's) |
History
editIn October 2022, the BCCI announced its intentions to hold a five-team women's franchise cricket tournament in March 2023.[1] The tournament was named the Women's Premier League in January 2023, with investors buying the rights to franchises through a closed bidding process during the same month.[2] Diageo, the owners of Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League, bought the rights to one of the franchises.[2]
In February 2023, Ben Sawyer was announced as head coach of the side.[3] The inaugural player auction for the WPL was held on 13 February 2023, Royal Challengers Bangalore signing 18 players for their squad.[4] On 18 February 2023, Smriti Mandhana was announced as the team's captain. The side finished fourth in the group stage at the inaugural tournament.[5]
In September 2023, Luke Williams was announced as the head coach for the 2024 season.[6] The side won three of their five Bangalore-leg matches, and then they went on to win one match out of their next three matches. Ending the league stage with four wins, the side qualified for the playoffs.
In the eliminator, the team defeated the defending champions — Mumbai Indians, to advance into the final. In the final, they defeated Delhi Capitals to win the title, this was the franchise's maiden title across both men's and women's leagues. Royal Challengers Bangalore's Ellyse Perry and Shreyanka Patil won the orange cap and purple cap respectively.
Current squad
edit- Source:[7]
- Players with international caps are listed in bold.
| Royal Challengers Bangalore Squad for the 2024 Women's Premier League | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Nationality | Birth date | Batting style | Bowling style | Notes |
| Captain | |||||
| Smriti Mandhana |  India
|
18 July 1996 | Left-handed | Right-arm off break | |
| Batters | |||||
| Disha Kasat | India
|
19 September 1997 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Sabbhineni Meghana | India
|
7 June 1996 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| All-rounders | |||||
| Kanika Ahuja | India
|
7 August 2002 | Left-handed | Right-arm off break | |
| Asha Sobhana | India
|
16 March 1991 | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | |
| Sophie Devine |  New Zealand
|
1 September 1989 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | Overseas player |
| Heather Knight |  England
|
26 December 1990 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | Overseas player |
| Ellyse Perry |  Australia
|
3 November 1990 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | Overseas player |
| Shubha Satheesh | India
|
13 July 1999 | Left-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Wicket-keepers | |||||
| Richa Ghosh | India
|
28 September 2003 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Indrani Roy | India
|
5 September 1997 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Bowlers | |||||
| Simran Bahadur | India
|
13 December 1999 | Left-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Ekta Bisht | India
|
8 February 1986 | Left-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | |
| Kate Cross | England
|
3 October 1991 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | Overseas player |
| Sophie Molineux | Australia
|
17 January 1998 | Left-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | Overseas player |
| Shreyanka Patil | India
|
31 July 2002 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | |
| Renuka Singh | India
|
1 February 1996 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Georgia Wareham | Australia
|
23 May 1999 | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | Overseas player |
Administration and support staff
edit| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Director of cricket | Mo Bobat[8] |
| Head of team operations | Soumyadeep Pyne |
| Doctor | Dr Harini Muralidharan |
| Head coach | Luke Williams[9] |
| Assistant coach | Malolan Rangarajan |
| Batting coach | RX Murali |
| Fielding coach | Vellaswamy Vanitha |
| Source: Official website[10] | |
Kit manufacturers and sponsors
editKajaria Tiles was the official Title Sponsor for RCB WPL 2023.[11] Mia by Tanishq & Dream11 being principal partners. Apart from these, Puma, Himalaya, & Vega being the associate partners. Zuno General Insurance were their official partners for WPL 2023.[12][13]
| Year | Kit manufacturer | Main shirt sponsor | Back sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Puma | Kajaria | Mia |
| 2024 |
Seasons
edit| Year | League standings | Final standings |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 4th | League stage |
| 2024 | 3rd | Champions |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Inaugural Women's IPL likely to be played from March 3 to 26". ESPNcricinfo. 9 December 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
- ^ a b "Owners of Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals, RCB win bids to own Women's Premier League teams". ESPNcricinfo. 25 January 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
- ^ "RCB name Australian Ben Sawyer as head coach for WPL". The Indian Express. 15 February 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
- ^ "Bid-by-bid updates - 2023 WPL auction". ESPNcricinfo. 13 February 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
- ^ "Women's Premier League 2022/23 - Table". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
- ^ "RCB appoints Big Bash winner Luke Williams as head coach for WPL". Royal Challengers Bangalore. 30 September 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
- ^ "WPL 2024 squads: Full player list for all teams | The Cricketer". www.thecricketer.com. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
- ^ "Mo Bobat to join RCB as director of cricket after 12 years in England set-up". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
- ^ "RCB appoint Big Bash winner Luke Williams as WPL Head Coach". Hindustan Times. 30 September 2023. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
- ^ "Squad/Women". Royal Challengers Bangalore. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
- ^ "IPL and WPL teams hurry to secure last-minute deals, RCB and MI active". Sportcal. 3 March 2023.
- ^ "Zuno and RCB a truly fitting match". Zuno General Insurance.
- ^ "Official Insurance Partner". RCB-Twitter.