RCB hints rebranding, Captain Virat Kohli "isn't informed"

Earlier this week, Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) hinted its possible rebranding ahead of new season after removing display and cover pictures and changed the name to “Royal Challengers”. In their latest social media activity, the franchise changed the display picture with the “loading” sign and posted a collage with a caption, “Sit tight. Be right back”.

According to reports, RCB will replace ‘Bangalore’ in their team name with “Bengaluru” as well as their logo sometime this week. It is probably a response to a demand from a section of supporters to change the name of the team. These fans are not happy with the franchise for calling the side as ‘Bangalore’ which is now the old name of the Garden City.

Historically, the city was called “Bengaluru” till the third Anglo Mysore war of 1792. It was later changed to “Bengalore” as British found it hard to pronounce. In 2014, the Indian government decided to retain its old name “Bengaluru”. Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka and India’s third most populous city.

These social media activities were all done a day after the club had inked a deal with a new shirt sponsor in Muthoot Fincorp Ltd. a part of the Muthoot Pappachan Group, popularly known as Muthoot Blue, a diversified conglomerate in the financial services industry. The sponsorship includes a “jersey-front” logo placement, in-stadium integration at home matches, digital and other highly visible media platforms.

With its star-studded lineup, RCB have produced a massive fan following across the globe, with 3.4 million followers on Instagram, 3.6 million followers on Twitter and 9.1 million followers on Facebook. Despite the powerhouse squad and a number of supporters online, RCB is yet to win an IPL trophy as they have failed to clinch it in the last twelve seasons.

Meanwhile, amid the speculations of rebranding, RCB captain Virat Kohli seems not impressed as he expressed his confusion on Twitter, he wrote: “Posts disappear and the captain isn’t informed. @rcbtweets, let me know if you need any help.” Earlier, leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal followed by AB de Villiers took to social media and expressed their surprise.

These reactions was then followed by other members of the squad and gone viral as everyone seems clueless. In a funny banter via twitter, another IPL franchise, Delhi Capitals’ tweeted, “In case you’re rebranding, do let us know if you need any help, @RCBTweets! We know a thing or two.”

The IPL 2016 runners-up have seen underwhelming after getting close to the title. They finished last in 2017, 6th in 2018 and once again last in 2019. They are not gearing up for another season with the hopes of clinching their first IPL crown. Here’s a quick look at the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) squad ahead of IPL 2020:

Retained Virat Kohli, Moeen Ali, Yuzvendra Chahal, AB de Villiers, Parthiv Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Pawan Negi, Umesh Yadav, Gurkeerat Mann, Devdutt Padikkal, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Navdeep Saini

Bought: Aaron Finch (4.4 crore), Chris Morris (10 crore), Joshua Philippe (20 lakh), Kane Richardson(4 crore), Pavan Deshpande (20 lakh), Dale Steyn (2 crore), Shahbaz Ahamad (20 lakh), Isuru Udana (50 lakh).