Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) were questioned for their auction strategy but head coach Andy Flower is happy with the quality of spinners he has got into the squad. The prominent wrist spinner in the squad is Suyash Sharma who made his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in 2023 edition. Flower revealed that the hopes are high from the 21-year-old but they don't expect him to be legendary spinner Shane Warne. In addition, he named uncapped spinner Mohit Rathee as his backup.
"On the wristspin front, Suyash is a very exciting young prospect with limited experience, but has a really high ceiling. And Mohit Rathee to back him up," Flower told the reporters in the pre-match press conference. "You know, we are looking for great things from Suyash, but none of us know exactly how he's going to go in a full IPL season. And every young player starts off that way.
"He's rehabbing after a recent groin surgery and that's gone really well. That's been a long-standing injury problem he had, which we identified during the off season. And he's had some really good care and attention from RCB.
"We're hoping for great things from him. But we are also not expecting him to be, you know, Shane Warne from the off."
Flower called for patience with Suyash and pointed out options in the spin department.
"We've got to be patient and let him learn from his experiences. And it's good that he's got these experienced cricketers around him and a captain he'll be comfortable working with. To back them up, obviously Swapnil Singh was good for us last year. and Liam Livingstone does a bit of everything. Having him as backup on the spin department is quite a nice insurance to have. So we're comfortable with where we are."
RCB have had prominent leg-spinners in their side. While Adam Zampa had a brief stint, Yuzvendra Chahal is their highest wicket-taker. From 2014 to 2021, Chahal took 139 wickets for RCB.
Suyash's debut IPL season and price tag
On the other hand, Suyash impressed in IPL 2023 despite being a member of a packed spin-bowling lineup at KKR. He claimed 10 wickets at an average of 32.10 and had an economy rate of 8.23 runs per over in his debut season. He was roped in for Rs 2.60 crore by RCB in the mega auction.