Days ahead of the start of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019 season, legendary South African Allan Donald said that this could be the year of "great success" for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
Donald, 52, took to Twitter to share his wishes with the team captain by Virat Kohli and coached for Gary Kirsten. He wrote, "I wish you all the best for this coming IPL and may 2019 be the year of great success for this amazing franchise. I know under Gary Kirsten and Virat Kohli this team will develop a wonderful culture."
Known as the 'White Lightning' for his sheer pace and also the dominating presence in the field, Donald was one of the most popular figures in world cricket post-apartheid era. He played 72 Tests and 164 ODIs, taking 330 and 272 wickets respectively.
RCB once again have managed to assemble an ensemble of star casts with the likes of AB de Villiers, Marcus Stoinis, Shimron Hetmyer, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Yuzvendra Chahal in the squad.
But their campaign is expected to rely heavily on Kohli and ABD, like in the past. Kohli has been leading the outfit since 2011, while former India coach Kirsten joined the team last year.
Historically, the Bengaluru-based franchise has seen been the destination for most of the biggest have names in world cricket. In a way, from 2011 to 2017, they were clearly the Galacticos of cricket. The trio of Chris Gayle, Kohli and ABD were itself a team, often out-batting their rivals.
But RCB remain as one of the few existing franchises which are yet to win the trophy. Others being newly rechristened Delhi Capitals and Kings XI Punjab.
RCB will take on defending champions Chennai Super Kings in the season opener on March 23 in Chennai, in what would be the clash of two teams represented by the two superstars of Indian cricket. It will be MS Dhoni vs Virat Kohli.
