RCB auction strategy 2022: The Royal Challengers Bangalore are aiming for their first IPL title this season around.
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The 15th edition of the Indian Premier League is not so far away. Ahead of the event, a mega auction will take place in Bengaluru on 12 and 13 February. This time there will be a total of 10 ten teams will be participating in the tournament. Apart from the existing eight teams, Lucknow and Ahmedabad are the new franchises this season.
A total of 590 players will go under the hammer, 370 Indian players and 270 overseas players. Some notable exclusions from the list are Ben Stokes, Joe Root, Sam Curran, Mitchell Starc, and Chris Gayle. Stokes and Root will play County Cricket in England, whereas Starc has not played the IPL for the last seven years.
Royal Challengers Bangalore is one of the most popular franchises of the IPL, but they have not won a title yet. They received a major blow when Virat Kohli left the captaincy, but he is obviously retained. Glenn Maxwell has been one of the most inconsistent players of the IPL, but he is always in the demand. However, the way he played for RCB in the last season was exceptional, and he is retained as well. Mohammad Siraj is someone who has revived his career with the white ball, and retaining him was also not a tough decision.
RCB auction strategy 2022
The first thing that RCB needs is a captain. Glenn Maxwell leads Melbourne Stars in the BBL, but it is unlikely that he will lead the RCB side in IPL 2022. In the marquee players, Shreyas Iyer and David Warner are two popular options for the captaincy role. Shreyas Iyer has led Delhi Capitals to the final of IPL 2020, whereas Hyderabad won IPL 2016 under Warner. Although, Iyer can go for a really high price and Punjab Kings have the best chance to get him. David Warner can be a great buy for the side, and the combo of Virat and Warner at the top can be a reality.
Jason Holder is one such name, who is quite underrated. He recently took a double hat-trick against England. He has been a consistent wicket-taker in the last two IPLs, and he can be a great hitter too. According to multiple reports, RCB will definitely go after Holder in the mega-auction. Holder is yet another candidate who has the captaincy pedigree.
RCB always had some destructive batters in their ranks, but they lacked in bowling. In 2016, RCB had Gayle, Kohli, Watson, AB, and KL Rahul in their batting. However, in the last season, the bowlers of the side took control. The two players that RCB definitely would want will be Harshal Patel and Yuzvendra Chahal. It was a kind of surprise that Harshal was not retained after winning the purple cap last season. A lot of teams will go after Harshal this time, and RCB will definitely go for him. Yuzi Chahal has been the most consistent RCB bowler for a while now, and he has said that he would love playing for RCB. The side would want to build their bowling around them again.
It is said that this is the last mega auction for a while now. So, the role of youngsters becomes very very vital in any squad. South African U-19 sensation Dewald Brevis has registered for the auction, and he has openly expressed his desire to play for RCB. Brevis finished as the highest run-scorer of the World Cup, whereas he also can take wickets with his leg-break bowling. Several media reports have said that Riyan Parag is yet another option RCB wants to go after. Parag has been underwhelming recently, but he has that talent in him.
A lot of players would want to love playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore, and they would want to build a strong core this season around.
