IPL 2024 Auction: Three Players RCB surprisingly retained before Auction

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Royal Challengers Bangalore's IPL 2024 auction approach is going to be an interesting watch. After 16 seasons, the star-studded RCB is yet to win a single IPL trophy, and they would be desperate to win their first in the upcoming season.

Royal Challengers Bangalore's marquee addition has been the arrival of Cameron Green from Mumbai Indians. The Australian all-rounder will be donning the Bangalore Red in 2024 and will be hoping to make a mark in the franchise's fortunes.

RCB have let go of 11 players. Sri Lankan all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga, Indian pacer Harshal Patel, and Aussie star Josh Hazlewood all were discarded before the auction. They also traded out Shahbaz Ahmed to SRH and brought in Mayank Dagar as an exchange.

But there are three names which have raised questions, three players whom RCB have retained for the 2024 season. Although the likes of Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis are undisputed choices, we could find three players who are lucky to be still part of the RCB side-

Akash Deep

Akash Deep has only played 7 matches across two IPL seasons for Royal Challengers Bangalore. The Bengal pacer has gone with an economy north of 11 in the IPL and only played twice last season.

His overall wicket tally of 1 last season reflects his poor outing in the tournament, but RCB have surprisingly retained the bowler. The 27-year-old's retention is definitely an eye-raiser, but Akash Deep will be hoping to repay the faith in 2024.

Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik's IPL career is an illustrious one, but the veteran player didn't have a good outing last season. Playing 13 matches, Karthik only managed 140 runs at an average of 11.7.

Karthik is on a high salary of INR 5.5 crore at Royal Challengers Bangalore, hence the decision to keep him may bite the franchise in the coming season. The 38-year-old didn't play in the T20 domestic tournament this year but has made a decent start in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

Suyash Prabhudessai

Suyash Prabhudessai is someone who will consider himself lucky to be at RCB after his disappointing outings last season.

Across the two seasons since 2022, Prabhudessai has only managed 102 runs in 9 innings. The soon-to-be 26-year-old is a talented player but has failed to showcase that in the IPL stage.

Since his debut IPL match where he scored 34 off just 18 balls against CSK, Prabhudessai has averaged below 9 in his last eight IPL innings.

RCB's retention of the Goa player is a surprising one, but the decision can bode long-term success. With just 26 years of age, Prabhudessai has a lot of room for improvement and he can establish himself as a success story in Bangalore.