A New Livery for the Royal Attire! (Episode 9 : 2016)

The new season is here and everything about RCB looks very fresh and new too! Firstly, my apologies that I kept you waiting this long. Though I had wished to write about RCB’s visual treats for 2016 long ago, few of my commitments hijacked my blogging time. Anyways, here is the much-awaited episode of the RCB Jersey Evolution!

My blog had previously tried to figure out what the jersey would look like for this season of the IPL and many of my predictions did not come true. However, those which actually turned out to be true were the introduction of ‘Home’ and ‘Away’ system with two separate jerseys and the placement of few sponsor logos.

The Jersey Launch

This season will witness maximum changes on the RCB jersey compared to the previous ones. Adidas is no longer the kitmaker for RCB and it has been replaced by Zeven, a newcomer to the arena. Zeven is a sports goods manufacturer with the greats like Mahesh Bhupathi and Ravi Shastri in its corporate unit.

The jerseys have a totally refreshing look with black and red donning the maximum area. Gold has been used only for piping and blue has been completely eliminated. This new look has been designed by Michael Foley, well-known among the sportswear designers. The home and away jerseys swap primary and secondary colours excepting the collar which remains same for both. Interestingly, the sides beneath the arms and the extended patching on the trousers with the black design on home apparel turn grey on the away strips, not red. The names and numbers for the players are printed in gold, which is the only gold-dominant area, unlike previous designs.

THE HOME JERSEY

THE AWAY JERSEY

Moving to the commercial part, Huawei which rested on the belly spot has gone and has been replaced by Hero Cycles. I am not a fan of the white background this logo contains. I feel the logo should’ve been white with no background. The chest area is held by Lloyd Air Conditioners, another newbie to the RCB family. Britannia and Tata Motors (now as Zest) continue to place themselves on the sleeves while LYF Smartphones is another new addition on the sleeve. Kingfisher, as usual, dons the back but has nothing below it unlike previous seasons’ ‘Packaged Drinking Water’ (2014) and ‘Premium’ (2015). Few players do not endorse the liquor brand due to religious reasons however, packaged drinking water would’ve avoided this! The jersey maker Zeven and 7UP are seen on trousers while Acer and Himalaya Mens’ (initially ‘Pimple?’) are placed on the headgear.

Team RCB in 2016.

EDIT: SUNDAY, MAY 15, 2016
The 'Game for Green' jersey wasn't very different except for the primary colour being green. The only change was the usage of black colour for name and numbers instead of the usual gold. As always, twitter handles of the players were used in the place of names at the back. The team used did not use the green caps for unknown reasons and played with usual red caps. The batting and keeping gear was red as opposed to previous seasons' gold variants.

This season's green match was an absolute blinder with numerous unforgettable moments. The dangerous duo of Ab deVilliers and Virat Kohli scoring centuries each and RCB winning the match with a mammoth run margin.

The heroes of the RCB's Go Green match of 2016.

Stay tuned for a new series on Indian Jerseys!