Seventeen seasons ago, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) crashed to a heavy defeat against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the inaugural match of the Indian Premier League. That match was in April, 2008. If we cut back to 2024, RCB still haven’t won an IPL title, although they have reached the summit clash thrice. Ahead of the mega-auction, what could be their game plan as they look to resurrect their fortunes and hoist the glittering trophy?
The Team
After winning a solitary game out of their first eight matches, RCB charted a stunning turnaround to reach the Eliminator Phase in the 2024 IPL. Eventually, they lost out to Rajasthan Royals. Despite their sterling performance, RCB decided to not retain Faf du Plessis, their skipper. Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, and Yash Dayal were the only three players retained by the franchise.
Auction Purse and Strategy
RCB have spent INR 37 crores to retain the aforesaid three players. So, they have a remaining purse of INR 83 crores. They also have three RTM options, which in turn can be used on capped players.
Regarding their strategy, Andy Flower, the head coach, had said to RCB’s website: “The type of cricket we want to play will drive the recruitment process actually, because we will have specific roles which we want to fill and those roles will carry particular skills that are important to excelling at T20 cricket of an international standard, which is what the IPL is.”
Key Areas to Strengthen
Considering the conditions at the Chinnaswamy, their home ground, the management might be looking at wrist spinners/mystery spinners and an experienced fast bowler, who has hit-the-deck skills. When it comes to the left-arm angle, they already have Dayal. Obviously, they would be also looking to fill one of the opener’s slots after leaving out du Plessis. With Cameron Green being ruled out because of a back injury, they would also be considering potential picks among pace-bowling all-rounders.
Players they would like to target
Jos Buttler, the England limited-overs skipper, has been left out of retentions’ list by Rajasthan Royals. Although Buttler isn’t getting any younger, he is still expected to get enough bids; RCB could be one of them. Allah Ghazanfar and Noor Ahmed, the two spinners from Afghanistan, could also be in the mix. Ghazanfar bowls quicker through and mostly zooms the ball on the stumps. Alongside his stock ball, Ghazanfar has enough variations – the googly, back-spinner, carrom and the reverse-carrom ball.
Josh Hazlewood, Yuzvendra Chahal, KL Rahul, Mohammed Shami, Rachin Ravindra and Abhinav Manohar could be other decent picks. RCB might also keep an eye on local talent, especially Manvanth Kumar. The tall all-rounder extracts seam movement at decent pace, alongside possessing a few variations. A left-hand batter, he can also give it a mighty thump. Also watch out for Bailapudi Yeswanth, the wrist-spinner.
Players they would like to buy back
The think tank might still be analysing whether to bid for Glenn Maxwell for his pyrotechnics and off-spin. The star all-rounder wasn’t one of the retained players, but they have the RTMs. In that context, du Plessis, Mohammed Siraj and Will Jacks could also come into the equation.