Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) raised eyebrows by releasing several notable names, including Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood, Sri Lankan spinner Wanindu Hasaranga, and Indian all-rounder Harshal Patel, on the IPL 2024 retention deadline day. It appears that RCB are entering the auction on December 19 with specific strategies under their new team management, led by head coach Andy Flower.
RCB have a total of 7 slots to fill, including 4 overseas slots, with a remaining purse of Rs 40.75 crore for the mini-auction. Notably, Australian all-rounder Cameron Green was traded to RCB from Mumbai Indians (MI) after the retention deadline on November 26. The trade involved Hardik Pandya going to MI, who, in return, made cash available for the return of their star all-rounder by offloading the young Australian talent.
However, it's clear that under Flower, RCB are aiming for a revamped bowling attack, retaining only 4 pacers: Mohammed Siraj, Vijay Kumar Vysak, Reece Topley, and Akash Deep. RCB released a total of 11 players on November 26, with a significant focus on bowlers. The list includes Avinash Singh, David Willey, Finn Allen, Harshal, Hazlewood, Kedar Jadhav, Michael Bracewell, Siddharth Kaul, Sonu Yadav, Hasaranga, and Wayne Parnell.
Clarifying the choice to release Harshal, despite his past success with the team, Flower said that the team's priority was to boost their auction purse with additional funds. It's worth noting that RCB acquired Harshal and Hasaranga for Rs 10.75 crore each in the IPL 2022 auction and retained both players in 2022.
"Harshal has been an excellent performer for RCB in the past. He is in our books a high-value player. In that he was in our books for Rs 10.75 crore, in our efforts to release some cash to give us flexibility and buying power in the auction, he was someone who we had to look closely at. Wanindu Hasaranga was also a high-value player in monetary terms. So releasing that player into the auction gives us some amount of flexibility," Flower told RCB after the retentions were made official.
WHY NO HAZLEWOOD?
Meanwhile, Flower disclosed that Hazlewood won't be available for at least the first half of IPL 2023 due to expecting his first child with his wife in March 2024. Hazlewood's release was surprising, given his impactful performance, securing 20 wickets for RCB in 2022 before an injury-affected season in 2023.
Flower also confirmed their intention to reacquire Willey in the auction after releasing him. Willey, who claimed 5 wickets for England in the World Cup 2023, later announced his retirement from international cricket.
"Josh Hazlewood, I just came off the phone from him actually. He pleasingly has a baby on the way and is due by the end of March. So Josh won't be with us and certainly not for the first half of the season," Flower added.
"David Willey has just come off a very successful 50-over World Cup. I know him well. He has been an outstanding cricketer for whatever team he plays. We will keep an eye on him and how his auction goes as well."
RCB SQUAD AFTER RETENTION
Retained Players: Akash Deep, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik, Faf Du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell, Himanshu Sharma, Karn Sharma, Mahipal Lomror, Manoj Bhandage, Mayank Dagar (T), Mohammed Siraj, Rajan Kumar, Rajat Patidar, Reece Topley, Suyash Prabhudessai, Virat Kohli, Vyshak Vijay Kumar, Will Jacks.
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