Former South Africa captain AB de Villiers expressed concern about Royal Challengers Bangalore's (RCB) lack of a world-class spin operator like Rashid Khan for IPL 2024. De Villiers shared his views in a live session on his YouTube channel, emphasising the gap created by the departure of Yuzvendra Chahal and the recent release of Wanindu Hasaranga, another skilled spinner.
“One or two incredible spinners I would say, um X factor. Spinners. I think of guys like we need a leg spinner like Rashid Khan. Perhaps, Uh Oh, yeah. We got rid of Yuzvendra Chahal not long ago. We missed him over the last few years, I think. And I think that's still the missing link, So we'll see it. They also released Wanindu Hasaranga after last season,” De Villiers said.
Despite RCB's efforts in the auction, securing players such as Alzarri Joseph for Rs 11.50 crore, Yash Dayal for Rs 5 crore, Tom Curran for Rs 1.5 crore, Lockie Ferguson for Rs 2 crore, Swapnil Singh for Rs 20 lakh, and Saurav Chauhan for Rs 20 lakh, the team still lacks a spinner with the X-factor. De Villiers noted that although RCB have spin options like Karn Sharma and Himanshu Sharma, still they are missing a bowler capable of consistently taking four or five wickets in a match, akin to Rashid Khan's impact for Gujarat Titans (GT).
The 39-year-old suggested that RCB might explore trading for such a player in the future. However, he acknowledged that acquiring a player of Rashid's calibre through a trade might not be feasible at the moment.
"So I don't know what the plans are there. Yes. There are some spinners there. I do think we miss the mystery X-factor spinner that gets you four or five wickets like Rashid Khan. Unfortunately, no one could get hold of him because he is pretty much cement. Very much cemented in that GT side. But hopefully, in the future, you know. So I should get to try to get him over, maybe do a trade. I don't think Rashid Khan is tradable at the moment, though," De Villiers added.
RCB's current squad includes Faf du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik, Suyash Prabhudessai, and Will Jacks, among others. However, the search for a match-altering leg-spinner persists as RCB aim to address the void in their bowling attack. De Villiers, identifying the release of key bowlers like Josh Hazlewood before the auction, pointed to this as the team's most significant weakness.
(Powered by AI, Inputs by India Today)
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