RCB’s nearly men – 6 players who never won an IPL title with Royal Challengers Bengaluru despite multiple attempts
“This win is as much for the fans as it is for the team. I’ve given this team my youth, prime and experience. Tried to win it every season, gave it everything I can. Never thought this day would come, was overcome with emotion after we won,” Virat Kohli shared after Royal Challengers Bengaluru were confirmed winners of the 2025 edition of the Indian Premier League.
The 36-year-old star had finally reached the mountain top after 17 years of trying. RCB came close three times and were not good enough in 2009, 2011, and 2016.
Mayank Agarwal was part of the 2011 team and was the only other player from RCB’s losing finalist teams still playing for the side from Bengaluru.
Below are some of the superstars who didn’t stick around for long enough to help RCB win their first title:
1. AB de Villiers
AB de Villiers is synonymous with RCB. The South African legend joined the franchise in 2011 and became part of the furniture. His name became synonymous with RCB so much that people forgot his three-year stint with Delhi Daredevils from 2007/8 to 2009/10.
He continued his attachment to the franchise after retirement and is one of their biggest ambassadors. De Villiers was part of the 2011 and 2016 losing finalists.
2. Chris Gayle
Christopher Henry Gayle transformed the IPL with his power-hitting. 2011 was his breakout year. He smashed two centuries and three half-centuries in a barnstorming season. Unfortunately, he couldn’t turn on the afterburners in the 2011 final.
He was dismissed for a three-ball duck. However, the West Indian superstar turned up for the 2016 final ready to win it. He registered a strike rate of 200, smashing eight sixes and four fours for a brisk 76 from 38 balls.
Unfortunately, the rest of the RCB batting lineup forgot to turn up that day. Besides Kohli’s outstanding 54 off 35 balls, no one else contributed substantial scores, and RCB lost the title to Sunrisers Hyderabad.
3. Anil Kumble
Anil Kumble could have been the first RCB captain to lift the IPL trophy, not Rajit Patidar. In 2011, Kumble won the toss and elected to bowl first against the Deccan Chargers. Reports from back then show that Adam Gilchrist, captain of the Chargers, was surprised to bat first.
He was even more surprised after Kumble dismissed him for a three-ball duck in the first over.
Gilchrist was his first wicket on his way to a masterful 4/16. However, despite his best efforts, Kumble couldn’t prevent Herschelle Gibbs from scoring an unbeaten half-century to lead the Chargers to a match-winning total.
4. Shane Watson
Shane Watson won two IPL titles in 10 years. The Australian scored a handy 28 to help the Rajasthan Royals squeeze past Chennai Super Kings off the final delivery of the final. In 2018, Watson smashed an unbeaten 117 from 57 balls to help CSK cruise to an eight-wicket victory with nine balls to spare against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Between his years with the Rajasthan Royals and CSK, Watson spent two seasons with RCB and was part of the RCB side that lost the final to SRH in 2016. He could have had three titles to his name.
5. KL Rahul
KL Rahul watched RCB lose the 2011 final to Sunrisers Hyderabad from the dugout. That is the year he made his IPL debut, and he featured in five matches but only batted in two innings. The India all-format star moved away from the franchise in the next season. He found a home with the side that broke his heart in his first year, Sunrisers Hyderabad.
He played for them for a couple of seasons before he returned to Bengaluru and was, again, part of the side that reached the 2016 final. This time around, he was in the starting XI, but couldn’t do much with the bat. He fell for a nine-ball 11.
6. Yuzvendra Chahal
Yuzvendra Chahal has an IPL winner’s medal. Like KL Rahul in 2011, he watched his side compete in the IPL final from the sidelines. The spinner could argue that he played a role in Mumbai Indians’ title-winning effort by carrying drinks to the guys on the field.
The mercurial spinner was lured away from the Wankhede by RCB and joined the Bengaluru side in 2014. Chahal recorded the third-best economy in the 2016 final against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
He conceded at a rate of 8.75, behind Chris Gayle, who conceded 24 runs in three overs for an economy of eight and Sreenath Aravind, who put on a stellar performance, going for 30 runs in four overs for an economy of 7.5.
Chahal also bagged a single wicket, dismissing Shikhar Dhawan in the seventh over. However, his effort was not enough to help RCB win the title.
These are the players who watched Virat Kohli break down with emotion after he finally achieved what they tried with him and failed.
They understood his emotions because this title was as much his as it was for them, including cricketers like Aravind Sreenath, who came close twice but didn’t see the promised land; Rahul Dravid, Manesh Pandey, and Ross Taylor. Robin Uthappa, Daniel Vettori, Zaheer Khan, and Luke Pomersbach.