RCB releases 10 players ahead of IPL Auction

RCB releases 10 players ahead of IPL Auction: RCB have released three overseas and one Indian players.

IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore have joined the list of franchises to make last-minute changes to their team by releasing as many as 10 cricketers on the last day of the November 15 (today) deadline.

With the IPL auction for the next season of the IPL reportedly to be held in the third week of December in Jaipur, franchises were given the option to release, swap and tade players till today.

With most franchises waiting till the last moment to show their cards, all of them have performed the necessary now.

Coming back to RCB, they have released three capped overseas players in the New Zealand-duo of former captain Brendon McCullum and all-rounder Corey Anderson and England’s all-rounder Chris Woakes.

Among the released Indian players are Mandeep Singh, Sarfraz Khan, Manan Vohra, Murugan Ashwin, Aniket Chaudhary and Anirudha Joshi.

Having retired from international cricket, McCullum was bought for INR 3.6 crore earlier this year. RCB had played McCullum in six matches last season, where he scored 127 runs at an average of 21.16 and a strike rate of 144.31. Given his recent record, it is all but evident that the 37-year old cricketer isn’t the force that he once was.

After remaining unsold in the IPL auction, Anderson was roped in as a replacement for Australia’s Nathan Coulter-Nile, who was injured before the tourney. The 27-year old all-rounder from New Zealand played only three matches in the last season. With the bat, he scored 17 runs at an average of 5.66 and a strike rate of 77.27. With the ball in hand, he picked up three wickets at an average of 38.33, an economy rate of 13.26 and a strike rate of 17.33.

In the seven matches that Sarfaraz Khan had played this season, he scored a paltry 51 runs at an average of 10.20 and a strike rate of 124.39.

While all these players were expected to be released, Woakes’ exclusion came as a surprise after his services were acquired by RCB for INR 7.4 crore. In the five matches that Woakes played, he picked up eight wickets at an average of 23.75, an economy rate of 10.36 and a strike rate of 13.75.

Although his economy rate is on the higher side, Woakes would have a delight for Kohli if the IPL is conducted in South Africa.

Having earlier sold Quinton de Kock to Mumbai Indians and swapped Mandeep Singh with Marcus Stoinis , RCB have all in all released six players ahead of the auction.

Read some of the recent Twitter reactions on Royal Challengers Bangalore below: