Based: Dubai Last season: Eighth Best finish: Runners up in 2009, 2011 and 2016 Coach: Simon Katich Captain: Virat Kohli. The highest run-scorer in IPL history. The player of the series four years ago. And yet a winner’s medal still eludes him. They have reached the final on his watch, in 2016, but since then the underachievement has been stark: they have finished last twice, and third last on the other occasion. There have been signs in the late UK summer that Moeen has relocated his mojo, at least with the bat, having looked increasingly careworn in recent times. His batting strike-rate is among the best in the game in T20. Performances against Pakistan and Australia have shown his value in the death overs. RCB have identified death-bowling as being their Achilles heel. It was why they brought in Chris Morris, Isuru Udana and Richardson for this campaign. Richardson subsequently opted out, though, as he was concerned Covid-19 travel restrictions might cause him to miss the birth of his first child. How RCB have never won the IPL despite the list of all-time greats – Kohli, de Villiers, Chris Gayle, Dale Steyn – who have passed through their doors remains a mystery. Now they have employed Kiwi super brain Mike Hesson to try to solve it. He is the director of cricket operations for the franchise, with Simon Katich as the team’s head coach. Their batting remains strong, and they have added some bowling firepower in the form of Morris. Udana, an unheralded Sri Lankan left-armer who was picked up for his base price at auction, might also be a canny bit of business in a historical problem area for RCB. 1. Match 3, Monday, September 21, 6pm, Dubai - Sunrisers Hyderabad v Royal Challengers Bangalore 2. Match 6, Thursday, September 24, 6pm, Dubai – Kings XI Punjab v Royal Challengers Bangalore 3. Match 10, Monday, September 28, 6pm, Dubai – Royal Challengers Bangalore v Mumbai Indians 4. Match 15, Saturday, October 3, 2pm, Abu Dhabi – Royal Challengers Bangalore v Rajasthan Royals 5. Match 19, Monday, October 5, 6pm, Dubai – Royal Challengers Bangalore v Delhi Capitals 6. Match 25, Saturday, October 10, 6pm, Dubai – Chennai Super Kings v Royal Challengers Bangalore 7. Match 28, Monday, October 12, 6pm, Sharjah – Royal Challengers Bangalore v Kolkata Knight Riders 8. Match 31, Thursday, October 15, 6pm, Sharjah – Royal Challengers Bangalore v Kings XI Punjab 9. Match 33, Saturday, October 17, 2pm, Dubai – Rajasthan Royals v Royal Challengers Bangalore 10. Match 39, Wednesday, October 21, 6pm, Abu Dhabi – Kolkata Knight Riders v Royal Challengers Bangalore 11. Match 44, Sunday, October 25, 2pm, Dubai – Royal Challengers Bangalore v Chennai Super Kings 12. Match 48, Wednesday, October 28, 6pm, Abu Dhabi – Mumbai Indians v Royal Challengers Bangalore 13. Match 52, Saturday, October 31, 6pm, Sharjah – Royal Challengers Bangalore v Sunrisers Hyderabad 14. Match 55, Monday, November 2, 6pm, Abu Dhabi – Delhi Capitals v Royal Challengers Bangalore