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Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) auction table did not look busy during the first two marquee sets on Day 1 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction at Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It was speculated that KL Rahul will make a comeback to RCB did not rope him in and he went to Delhi Capitals (DC) for Rs 14 crore. Walking in with the second-heaviest purse in the auction, they did not go all out for the likes of Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer and Mitchell Starc. The picked only Liam Livingstone and the strategy left former Indian cricketer Robin Uthappa baffled.
"Three are my favourite sides are KKR, CSK and RCB. I have played for all three sides. I am telling you as a local Bengaluru boy, I am confused. I genuinely do not understand how you have the second-biggest purse and how you do not go for the big players in the marquee sets," Uthappa said while speaking to the broadcasters.
"You did not make more than one pick. When you are trying to rebuild your side, when you are looking for a new direction, you have got the fans backing you year after year, they put their emotions, they are thronging the stadium year after year. When you go through social media, it seems they are let down. I, as a fan of RCB and former player, I feel like they missed a trick. You just wonder where they are heading.
"They haven’t gone after Mitchell Starc as they are looking for a gun bowler in those conditions. They should have gone after KL Rahul, they haven’t gone after even Rishabh Pant or Shreyas Iyer. You got that purse. You could have gone for Rs 23 crore for one of those players. They didn’t go that far," he added.
Uthappa played for RCB in two seasons. He helped them reach their first final as well. The auction strategy from the franchise so far indicates that Virat Kohli may lead them in the next season.
RCB's picks on Day 1 of mega auction
On November 24, RCB picked three overseas, one capped and two uncapped Indian players. Their biggest buy was Josh Hazlewood at Rs 12.50 crore. He was followed by England wicketkeeper-batter Phil Salt at Rs 11.50 crore. They invested in an Indian wicketkeeper-batter as well. They roped in Jitesh Sharma at Rs 11 crore. Two uncapped bowlers are Rashikh Salam and Suyash Sharma.
