In a dazzling ceremony held at the packed Chinnaswamy Stadium on March 19, the Indian Premier League or IPL franchise RCB officially transformed itself into Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
The highly anticipated RCB Unbox event not only celebrated the franchise’s rich history but also its recent successes, marking a new chapter with a fresh name and a revamped jersey.
The event commenced with the RCB men’s team honouring the newly crowned Women’s Premier League (WPL) champions – Smriti Mandhana’s RCB-Women team with a guard of honor.
Former captain Virat Kohli, along with current skipper Faf du Plessis and Mandhana, then unveiled the new jersey and the rechristened name.
Notably, this move aligns with the state government of Karnataka’s decision in 2014 to change the city’s name to Bengaluru from Bangalore. While demands for the franchise’s name change persisted, the team retained its original name adopted during the inaugural edition in 2008.
Following suit with other IPL franchises like Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings, the renaming ceremony was met with elation from RCB fans, who expressed gratitude to the club for heeding their requests. Many fans expressed hope that the name change would bring luck and lead to RCB clinching their first IPL trophy.
Despite being a fan favourite, RCB is yet to secure the coveted IPL trophy. While they have reached the final on three occasions, the team has fallen short each time, with their last appearance in the final dating back to 2016.
RCB will kick off their 2024 campaign against defending champions Chennai Super Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on March 22, marking the beginning of a new era under the banner of Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
