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Top 5 Players RCB Should Target At The IPL Auction

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IPL 2020 auctions 5 players RCB should target

With the IPL retentions being announced and players released, all IPL teams have created some space to buy new players at the IPL auctions. The auction is nearing and there is already a lot of talk around the IPL 2020. Fans will be keenly looking forward to the auction which will be held on 19th December in Kolkata. In this article, we will see 5 players RCB should target at the IPL auctions.

As many as 71 players have been released by the teams for various reasons. And a lot of big money buys as well as marquee players are part of the released players.

One franchise which everyone will have their eyes on is the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).

RCB has released 12 players and retained only 2 overseas players in the form of AB De Villiers and Moeen Ali.

RCB will enter the auction with a purse of Rs 27.90 crores and will enter bidding wars for the high profile foreign players. Here are the 5 players who we think the 3-time runners up should target.

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1. Mitchell Starc

The top target for RCB, as well as for a few teams this season will be their former star Mitchell Starc.

The speedster played for the franchise for 2 seasons in 2014 and 2015 but missed the next two editions due to injury before being released by the franchise.

The Virat Kohli led side has released pacers such as Tim Southee, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Dale Steyn.

Nathan Coulter-Nile had missed the last 2 seasons due to injury and precautionary measures.

Regarding Dale Steyn, the newly appointed coach Mike Hesson has pointed out on the fitness issues of the South African legend, as the reason to release him.

Thus RCB now badly needs a quality pacer and hence the aim should be to get Mitchell Starc, who is known for his pace and accuracy.

However, RCB are expected to clash with Kings XI Punjab for the Aussie pacer. KXIP has more than Rs 42 crores left in the bank and will have an edge over RCB.

The other options that the team has are Oshane Thomas, Jason Behrendorff, Anrich Nortje, Chris Jordan and also Coulter-Nile, who they may consider to buy back at a cheaper price.

2. Pat Cummins

Another pacer who can be targeted by the Royal Challengers Bangalore is Starc’s teammate, Pat Cummins.

Cummins can prove to be lethal as a death bowler for RCB.

RCB have historically struggled with death bowlers and thus Cummins can be a good option for the Bangalore based side.

The franchise plays its home games at the M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru. The boundaries are short and the pitch is mostly batsmen friendly. So it is very important to have a bowler who is accurate and someone who can outsmart the batsmen with his pace, yorkers, slower-ones and yes, bouncers. Cummins can definitely help the team in this department.

Also, he has an economy rate of 6.78 in the T20I. And as a team, RCB is notorious for its bowlers giving too many runs. So can Cummins help the team re-write the stats?

The No. 1 pacer in the ICC Test rankings, who is also a handy batsman and a great fielder, will be on the wishlist of a few franchises.

He has played for the Kolkata Knights Riders and the Delhi Daredevils in the past. He was bought by the Mumbai Indians for 5.4 crores in the 2018 IPL auction but was ruled out of that edition due to injury.

3. James Neesham

Along with Starc, one of the hotter properties at this year’s player auction to go under the hammer will be that of James Neesham.

James Neesham impressed a lot in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, especially when bowling the death overs for New Zealand and picking 15 wickets at an economy rate of 5.3.

As Colin de Grandhomme and Marcus Stoinis, who played a similar role last season, are released by the RCB, the franchise is expected to go for an allrounder who can play the finisher’s role.

There are alternatives that RCB may opt to bid for, as Chris Morris and Ben Cutting are also available at the auction.

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4. Carlos Braithwaite

One of the most popular all-rounders in world cricket is Carlos Braithwaite and with RCB in search of some firepower in the lower order, Braithwaite can be a good option to buy.

The ‘Remember the name’ player was in the Kolkata Knights Riders camp for the last 2 seasons. But he didn’t get too many opportunities as he was mostly used as a backup to his fellow West Indian teammate Andre Russell.

Mumbai Indians have strong power hitters like Keiron Pollard and Hardik Pandya, who can change the momentum of the game in minutes.

Similarly, Chennai Super Kings have MS Dhoni, who is known to take his team to the finish line, even in the most difficult situations.

Kolkata Knight Riders have Andre Russell who can pull the match out of the graves and breathe life into it.

Unfortunately, last season, batsmen such as Colin de Grandhomme and Marcus Stoinis, could not produce such performances when the team needed.

Thus this year, we feel, RCB needs a batsman who can keep the flame of hope alive even in the most impossible of the circumstances.

And everyone remembers Carlos Brathwaite for that only. His ‘never-say-die’ attitude and his immense power are enough to keep the opposition on its toes till the last ball of the match.

5. Sam Billings

With Parthiv Patel not impactful beyond the powerplays in the IPL 2019, Mike Hesson and his staff may see him as a backup. Thus RCB needs to bid for a wicket-keeper who can bat in the middle order as well.

With Shimron Hetmyer released they will be in search of an overseas batsman who can stabilize the innings.

Sam Billings looks like a good option as a wicket-keeper batsman. Though the Englishman has been in poor form lately he was a part of the title-winning side of the Chennai Super Kings in the 2018 edition.

He had played an impactful inning of 56 runs against KKR at the Chepauk that was crucial to get over the line eventually.

Also, in October 2019, Billings was named as the vice-captain and first-choice wicket-keeper in England’s T20I squad on their tour to New Zealand.

And we hope that this sense of responsibility as a player will reflect in his performance for any IPL team he will play.

Glenn Phillips can be another option to buy as keeper-bat and he was the 4th highest run-getter in the 2019 Carribean Premier League.

Alright, so we saw the 5 players RCB should target at the IPL auctions. We also saw what each player can bring to the table for the Royal Challengers. What do you think of the above names? Let us know your five players which RCB should target, in the comments section below.

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