A few days back, it was revealed that the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have retained 3 players ahead of the mega auction namely – Virat Kohli (INR 21 crore), Rajat Patidar (INR 11 crore), and Yash Dayal (INR 5 crore). RCB is now set to enter the mega auction with a purse of INR 83 crore, the second-largest reserve among the 10 franchises.
Former South Africa and RCB star, AB de Villiers revealed the main targets that the franchise should go after in the upcoming mega auction. The first name that de Villiers took is of former RCB star Yuzvendra Chahal, who was released by the Rajasthan Royals (RR) ahead of the auction. Secondly, he also wants RCB to go after veteran Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.
“Rs. 83 crore to spend, which is fantastic, I want the priority to be a world-class spinner. Let’s just get Yuzi back. Let’s stop messing around. Let’s get Yuzi back in RCB where he belongs. He should never have left. RCB can also get Ravi Ashwin, I fancy Washi Sundar as well. But with Ravi Ashwin, he has all the experience, you know what you get from him and he can also win you a game with bat in hand. Imagine if we get the twin spins from RR at RCB — these are guys who know their games in and out. I would be very happy about that. Anyway, Yuzi Chahal is my main priority,” de Villers said.
The next 2 names that he took were that of South Africa pacer Kagiso Rabada and veteran Indian pacer Bhuveneshwar Kumar, emphasizing that the franchise should go ahead with forming a “tournament-winning bowling attack”.
“Kagiso Rabada, let’s get him at RCB. Rabada, Yuzi Chahal and then we can think about Ravi Ashwin. Get those three there. We are talking about a tournament-winning bowling attack there. Here is my list of my four priority players — Yuzi Chahal, Kagiso Rabada, Bhuvi Kumar and R. Ashwin. I almost spent my entire purse on them. We can make a plan with the rest of the money we have left in the auction. Have a full go at that,” de Villers said.
The former South Africa batter named a few alternatives that RCB can end up getting if they aren’t able to get Rabada. He also appealed to head coach Andy Flower to strategically pick the team based on the requirements needed while playing in Bengaluru.
“If you can’t get Rabada, get hold of Mohammed Shami. If you can’t get him, get hold of Arshdeep Singh. So there’s lots of options. So there’s a lot of talent. Please, Andy Flower and guys. We need to get it right. We need a trophy! No, actually, we need a team that understands the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, a team that can play there, understand the plans and play according to plans,” de Villiers concluded.
