RC Bangalore

In September 2007, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the establishment of the Indian Premier League (IPL), a Twenty20 competition set to begin in 2008. On 24 January 2008, an auction was held in Mumbai for the league's teams, which represented eight different cities in India, including Bangalore. The Bangalore franchise was acquired by Vijay Mallya for US$111.6 million, making it the second-highest bid, slightly less than Reliance Industries' US$111.9 million bid for the Mumbai Indians.

Ahead of the 2008 player auction, the IPL designated Rahul Dravid as the icon player for the Bangalore franchise. This designation ensured that Dravid would be paid 15% more than the highest bid player at the auction. The franchise acquired several prominent Indian and international players, including Jacques Kallis, Anil Kumble, Zaheer Khan, Mark Boucher, Dale Steyn, and Cameron White. In the second round of the auction, they also signed Ross Taylor, Misbah-ul-Haq, and India under-19 World Cup-winning captain Virat Kohli. The franchise named Dravid as the captain of the team and appointed Venkatesh Prasad as the head coach. The team struggled in the inaugural season, winning only four out of their 14 matches and finishing seventh in the eight-team table. Dravid was the sole player to score more than 300 runs in the tournament, and the team even had to bench their most expensive foreign player, Kallis, for several matches due to his poor form. Midway through the season, the string of failures led to the sacking of CEO Charu Sharma, who was replaced by Brijesh Patel. Mallya publicly criticised Dravid and Sharma for their selection of players at the auction, stating that his "biggest mistake was to abstain from the selection of the team." Eventually, the chief cricketing officer of the franchise, Martin Crowe, resigned and Prasad was replaced by Ray Jennings as the head coach.

At the 2009 player auction, the franchise signed Kevin Pietersen for a record US$1.55 million, making him the most expensive player alongside Andrew Flintoff (Chennai Super Kings). They also traded Zaheer Khan for Robin Uthappa with the Mumbai Indians and brought in local batsman Manish Pandey. Due to general elections in India, the tournament was held in South Africa. Pietersen was named captain, but after a string of initial losses, Anil Kumble took over the captaincy when Pietersen left for national duty. RCB's performance improved under Kumble, winning six of their last eight matches to finish third in the league table. They defeated Chennai Super Kings in the semi-final but fell short by six runs in the final against Deccan Chargers.

In 2010, the Royal Challengers, under Kumble's captaincy, secured seven wins from 14 matches, accumulating 14 points. Tied with three other teams for a playoff spot, their superior net run rate qualified them for the semi-finals. In the semi-final, they were defeated by the table-toppers, the Mumbai Indians, by 35 runs. However, the Royal Challengers secured a convincing nine-wicket win over the defending champions, the Deccan Chargers, in the third-place playoff, thus qualifying for the 2010 Champions League Twenty20. Kumble retired at the conclusion of the Champions League, having led the team to the semi-finals of both the IPL and the CLT20 that year.

On 8 January 2011, the IPL Governing Council held the auction for the fourth season of the league. Franchises had the option of retaining a maximum of four players for a sum of US$4.5 million. However, RCB retained only Virat Kohli, leaving their other players to re-enter the auction pool. During the auction, Bangalore made significant acquisitions, including Tillakaratne Dilshan, Zaheer Khan, AB de Villiers, Daniel Vettori, Saurabh Tiwary, Dirk Nannes, and Cheteshwar Pujara. Daniel Vettori was named captain for the season. RCB began their campaign with a win over the newly formed Kochi Tuskers Kerala. However, they faced three consecutive defeats against Mumbai Indians, Deccan Chargers, and Chennai Super Kings. Dirk Nannes was replaced by Chris Gayle because of an injury. Gayle's inclusion led RCB to a seven-match winning streak. In their final league match, RCB defeated defending champions Chennai Super Kings, securing the top position in the points table. They lost the final, again facing the Super Kings, by 58 runs. Chris Gayle was named Man of the Tournament. Royal Challengers Bangalore reached the 2011 Champions League Twenty20 semi-finals after finishing runner-up in the IPL. They won their final group match against Southern Redbacks on the last ball and beat New South Wales Blues in the semis. They lost the final to Mumbai Indians.

Before the 2012 auction, RCB retained Chris Gayle and secured Andrew McDonald from Delhi Daredevils. In the auction, RCB acquired Vinay Kumar and Muttiah Muralitharan. RCB began the 2012 IPL season without Chris Gayle, who was recovering from an injury. AB de Villiers and Muttiah Muralitharan contributed to a winning start against Delhi Daredevils. RCB won eight out of their sixteen games but failed to qualify for the playoffs. Gayle was the highest run-scorer of the tournament with 733 runs, including a century.

Before the 2013 auction, RCB released Mohammad Kaif, Charl Langeveldt, Dirk Nannes, Luke Pomersbach, and Rilee Rossouw. At the auction, they acquired Christopher Barnwell, Daniel Christian, Moises Henriques, Ravi Rampaul, Pankaj Singh, R. P. Singh, and Jaydev Unadkat. Virat Kohli replaced Daniel Vettori as captain and remained in that role until 2021. During the IPL season, RCB finished fifth in the group stage points table with 9 wins from 16 matches, failing to qualify for the playoffs. Chris Gayle was the second highest run scorer of the tournament, behind Michael Hussey of the Chennai Super Kings, while Vinay Kumar was the team's highest wicket-taker with 23 wickets.

Before the 2014 auction, RCB retained AB de Villiers, Chris Gayle, and Virat Kohli from previous seasons. The players bought in the 2014 auction included Albie Morkel, Mitchell Starc, Parthiv Patel, Ashok Dinda, Nic Maddinson, Varun Aaron, Yuzvendra Chahal, Vijay Zol, and Yuvraj Singh, who was the most expensive player at ₹14 crore (equivalent to ₹22 crore or US$2.7 million in 2023), among others. Daniel Vettori replaced Ray Jennings as the head coach of the team. The first phase of the IPL was held in the UAE and the second phase in India. RCB finished 7th in the points table and did not qualify for the playoffs. De Villiers was the highest run-scorer for the team with 395 runs, while Varun Aaron took the most wickets, claiming 16.

Before the 2015 auction, RCB secured Manvinder Bisla from Kolkata Knight Riders and Iqbal Abdulla from Rajasthan Royals, as well as Mandeep Singh from Kings XI Punjab during the transfer window. In the auction, they bought Daren Sammy, Sean Abbott, Subramaniam Badrinath, Sarfaraz Khan, and Dinesh Karthik, among others. Royal Challengers started their season with a win against KKR at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. During the group stage, they won a total of seven out of fourteen matches, finishing in third place on the points table. In the playoffs, they defeated Rajasthan Royals in the Eliminator by 71 runs. However, in the second qualifier against the Chennai Super Kings, RCB lost by 3 wickets, knocking them out of the tournament. AB de Villiers, Virat Kohli, and Chris Gayle were the 4th, 5th, and 6th highest run-scorers of the season, respectively, while Yuzvendra Chahal was the team's highest wicket-taker and the 3rd highest overall in the season.

Amid financial scandals involving owner and chairman Vijay Mallya, Amrit Thomas became the chairman of the Royal Challengers. In the 2016 season, RCB introduced different jerseys for home and away matches. During the player auction, they acquired Shane Watson, Kane Richardson, Stuart Binny, Travis Head, and Samuel Badree, among others. Additionally, KL Rahul and Parvez Rasool joined RCB from Sunrisers Hyderabad. RCB won their first match of the season against Sunrisers, with AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli scoring 82 and 75 runs, respectively. However, they struggled in the next six matches, securing only one win against Rising Pune Supergiant, which made it challenging to qualify for the playoffs. However, RCB qualified for the playoffs, losing only one match in their next seven games. They set a record by defeating the Gujarat Lions with a winning margin of 144 runs, the highest in IPL history. RCB finished the group stage in second place on the points table with 18 points. In the playoffs, they faced Gujarat Lions in Qualifier 1 at their home ground, M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, and won by 4 wickets, advancing to their third final in nine seasons. In the final against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Bangalore, RCB lost by 8 runs, ending the season as runners-up for the third time in IPL history. Yuzvendra Chahal and Shane Watson were the second and third highest wicket-takers of the tournament, while Virat Kohli won the Orange Cap for scoring the most runs in the tournament, amassing 973 runs—the highest ever in IPL history.

In the 2017 player auctions, the Royal Challengers acquired Tymal Mills, Aniket Choudhary, Pawan Negi, Praveen Dubey, and Billy Stanlake. Mitchell Starc parted ways with the team to rehabilitate ahead of the Champions Trophy, prompting the management to replace him with Tymal Mills. The season for RCB was impacted by injuries, with skipper Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers missing the initial matches. This led to Shane Watson stepping in as the interim captain. Batsmen KL Rahul and Sarfaraz Khan were also ruled out for the season due to prolonged injuries. RCB finished at the bottom of the table, losing ten out of their fourteen matches. In a match against the Kolkata Knight Riders, RCB was all out for just 49 runs, marking the lowest score ever in an IPL match. Virat Kohli was the leading run-scorer for the team with 308 runs in the tournament, while Pawan Negi took the most wickets, claiming 16.

Ahead of the 2018 IPL, RCB retained Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, and Sarfaraz Khan. During the auction, they acquired notable players such as Brendon McCullum, Chris Woakes, Colin de Grandhomme, Moeen Ali, Quinton de Kock, Umesh Yadav, and Yuzvendra Chahal, among others. In January 2018, Gary Kirsten was appointed as the batting coach, and Ashish Nehra took on the role of bowling coach. In the group stage, RCB finished sixth in the points table, failing to qualify for the playoffs. Virat Kohli was the team's leading run-scorer, while Umesh Yadav took the most wickets.

In August 2018, Gary Kirsten was appointed as the head coach of the Royal Challengers Bangalore, replacing Daniel Vettori. During the 2019 IPL auction, the team acquired Shivam Dube, Shimron Hetmyer, Heinrich Klaasen, and Devdutt Padikkal, along with other key players. During the season, Dale Steyn joined the team, replacing the injured Nathan Coulter-Nile. Steyn played only two games before being ruled out of the tournament due to a shoulder injury. In the group stage, RCB played 14 games, winning five, and finished at the bottom of the table. Virat Kohli was once again the highest run-scorer for the team, while Yuzvendra Chahal was the highest wicket-taker.

In August 2019, Simon Katich replaced Gary Kirsten as the head coach of the team, and Mike Hesson was appointed as the director of cricket operations. Ahead of the 2020 IPL auction, RCB released several players, including Colin de Grandhomme, Dale Steyn, Heinrich Klaasen, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Akshdeep Nath, Marcus Stoinis, Shimron Hetmyer, and Tim Southee. During the auction, RCB added Aaron Finch, Chris Morris, Joshua Philippe, Kane Richardson, Pavan Deshpande, Dale Steyn, Shahbaz Ahmed, and Isuru Udana to their squad. They also released a new logo ahead of the season. The 2020 IPL season was postponed and eventually held in the UAE due to the COVID-19 pandemic. RCB qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2016, finishing fourth on the points table with 14 points. They faced Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Eliminator but lost by six wickets. Devdutt Padikkal was the team's leading run-scorer with 473 runs, followed by Virat Kohli with 466 runs and AB de Villiers with 454 runs. Yuzvendra Chahal was the highest wicket-taker, taking 21 wickets, followed by Chris Morris and Mohammad Siraj, who each took 11 wickets.

During the 2021 IPL auction, RCB acquired Glenn Maxwell, Mohammed Azharuddeen, Sachin Baby, Kyle Jamieson, Srikar Bharat, Rajat Patidar, Dan Christian, and Suyash Prabhudessai. The season was suspended midway due to a sudden rise in COVID-19 cases among players and resumed in September in the UAE. Before the season's resumption, the team's head coach, Simon Katich, resigned, and Mike Hesson took over as head coach. RCB qualified for the playoffs by finishing fourth in the points table but failed to lift the trophy once again, losing to Kolkata Knight Riders in the Eliminator. Harshal Patel finished the season with 32 wickets, equalling Dwayne Bravo's record for the highest number of wickets taken in a season and winning the Purple Cap. Glenn Maxwell was the highest run-scorer for the team with 513 runs, the fifth highest in the season. Virat Kohli became the first-ever batsman to score 6,000 runs in the IPL during this season. This season marked AB de Villiers's last in the IPL, as he announced his retirement in November 2021.

In the 2022 season, the Royal Challengers underwent significant changes. Faf du Plessis was announced as the new captain following Virat Kohli's decision to step down from the role after the 2021 season. Additionally, Sanjay Bangar was appointed as the new head coach. During the auction, RCB acquired several key players, including Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel, Finn Allen, Mahipal Lomror, Dinesh Karthik, Josh Hazlewood, and Jason Behrendorff. The season also saw the expansion of the league to include two new teams, making it a 10-team competition. RCB managed to advance past the eliminator stage for the first time in two seasons but ultimately fell short of winning the title, losing to Rajasthan Royals in Qualifier 2. du Plessis finished the season as the team's highest run-scorer with 468 runs, while Hasaranga was the leading wicket-taker with 26 wickets.

Ahead of the 2023 season, RCB acquired Reece Topley, Will Jacks, Rajan Kumar, Avinash Singh, Sonu Yadav, Himanshu Sharma, and Manoj Bhadange in the auction. The team won seven of their fourteen matches, finishing sixth in the group stage and failing to qualify for the playoffs. Faf du Plessis was the top run-scorer, while Mohammed Siraj took the most wickets for the team.

The Royal Challengers struggled in the first half of the season, losing seven of their first eight games. However, they managed to qualify for the playoffs by winning their next six matches. In the Eliminator against Rajasthan Royals, RCB lost the match by four wickets, failing once again to lift the trophy. Virat Kohli won the Orange Cap, scoring 741 runs, while Yash Dayal became the team's highest wicket-taker with 15 wickets.