IPL Auction 2022: Royal Challengers Bangalore Strategy: Players RCB should buy, remaining purse

Bengaluru, February 11: The Royal Challengers Bangalore has a reputation of shelling big money to fetch star names to their ranks. The IPL 2022 Auction might see them landing another big fish.

In the past, they had spent massive amounts for players like Glenn Maxwell, Yuvraj Singh, Chris Morris etc in the auction. The RCB might just follow one of the big names in this auction too.

They are in need of a captain after Virat Kohli stepped down from the leadership role last year. The RCB will want a star name to assume the mantle as it is also a case of brand value.

Nevertheless, they will offer plenty of excitement in the IPL auction 2022 with their bidding patterns. So, let’s check out who are the players possibly they would hire or buy back from the auction and their general strategy.

1 Retained players

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB): Virat Kohli (Rs 15 crore), Glenn Maxwell (Rs 11 crore), Mohammed Siraj (Rs 7 crore).

2 Purse Remaining

Rs. 57 crore

3 Whom RCB should buy in the auction

David Warner: The Australian left-handed opener will give the Royal Challengers multiple options — an experienced batsman, who has scored tons of runs in the IPL, and a captaincy option, after all Warner had guided Sunrisers Hyderabad to the IPL title in 2016. There will be competition for him from the likes of Punjab Kings.

Shreyas Iyer: It is more likely that the RCB will gun for Shreyas with several reports saying they are ready to shell out even Rs 20 crore for the India middle-order batsman. Apart from being a solid batsman, Shreyas also gives them a captaincy choice as he had led Delhi Capitals with aplomb in two seasons.

Shahrukh Khan: The RCB middle-order has always been a bit of an issue, depending heavily on Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers in the past. They have crashed from a winning position in many matches in the past. Shahrukh Khan has sufficient experience in domestic cricket and in the IPL and his big-hitting prowess can help RCB in IPL 2022 and perhaps beyond.

4 Whom RCB should buy back in the auction

Yuzvendra Chahal: The leg-spinner was an integral part of RCB set up under Virat Kohli. They should get him back as Chahal is a proven match-turner and he has done well against West Indies in the ongoing ODI series, showing the streak of resurgence. Chahal also seemed to have worked on his bowling variations like googly and slider to improve his efficiency.

Harshal Patel: Everyone was expecting for Harshal to get a retention from the RCB after his Purple Cap winning effort, picking up 32 wickets in 15 matches including a hat-trick. Harshal has showed steady development as a bowler and he can have a nice pairing with retained Mohammad Siraj.

5 Auction Strategy

RCB has Rs 57 crore in their purse, almost Rs 10 crore more than several other teams. It gives them a bit more freedom and financial flexibility. They might pursue a big name like Warner or Shreyas with alacrity and bag one of them.