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Former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) star batter AB de Villiers picked his top four players for the Bengaluru-based franchise ahead of the upcoming mega auction. RCB has retained Virat Kohli (21 cr), Yash Dayal (5 cr) and Rajat Patidar (11 cr) ahead of the auction of the marquee event. IPL finished fourth in the last edition they got out of the tournament after losing a do-or-die match against Rajasthan Royals by four wickets.
South Africa's legendary batter De Villiers is the second most capped player for RCB. He joined the franchise in 2011 and played 156 matches where he scored 4491 runs including two centuries and 37 half-centuries.
De Villiers picked Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar as his favourite picks for RCB in the mega auction which is scheduled to take place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on November 24 and 25.
The former South Africa cricketer picked ex-RCB spinner Yuzvendra Chahal as a priority.
“Let’s just get Yuzi back at RCB where he belongs. He should never have left.”He also suggested a robust bowling unit, ideally including Chahal, Kagiso Rabada, and Ravichandran Ashwin.“We’re talking about a tournament-winning attack there,” De Villiers said on his YouTube channel.
He further stated that if RCB are unable to get Rabada then try for injured Mohammed Shami or Arshdeep Singh.
"My four priority players are Yuzvendra Chahal, Kagiso Rabada, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Ravi Ashwin. We can make a plan with the rest of the money we have left in the auction. If you can't get Rabada, I get hold of Mohammed Shami. If you can't get him, get hold of Arshdeep Singh. So there's lots of options," he further added.
The Bengaluru-based franchise released their premier speedster Mohammed Siraj who joined the squad during the IPL 2018 auction. RCB will also look for a wicketkeeper batter as their veteran finisher Dinesh Karthik announced retirement after IPL 2024. There were reports that the team would go for KL Rahul or Rishabh Pant to fill the spot for a wicketkeeper batter.
Each franchise has a total auction purse of INR 120 crore and RCB has a remaining purse of INR 83 crore. There will be 1,574 players who will go under the hammer where 1,165 Indian players and 409 overseas talents. The auction will take place at the Abady Al Johar Arena, also known as the Benchmark Arena, and franchises will have the opportunity to fill a total of 204 available slots in their squads, with each team permitted to build a roster of up to 25 players.
