Kohli’s RCB in Dire Need of Batsmen at IPL Auction
Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Parthiv Patel: The only recognised batsmen on the RCB roster as things stand.
- Royal Challengers Bangalore armed with Rs 18.15 crore purse going into the IPL 2019 Auction.
- Virat Kohli’s side have a maximum of 10 spots to fill at the auction on Tuesday, 18 December, two of which can be overseas players.
- RCB have released Brendon McCullum and Chris Woakes, while selling Quinton de Kock to Mumbai Indians.
Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. Batman and Superman. Two of the greatest batsmen in modern-day cricket.
You’d think the two, alone, would be enough for a team’s fortunes. At the moment, that holds true – literally – for the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Kohli, de Villiers and Parthiv Patel are the only recognised batsmen on a 15-man RCB roster heading into the IPL 2019 Auction, after the franchise off-loaded Quinton de Kock, Brendon McCullum, Sarfraz Khan and Mandeep Singh in the trading window.
It’s quite clear which direction RCB need to look in if they are to build a squad capable of returning to the playoffs after missing out for the last two seasons.
Bare Basics
- Auction Purse: Rs 18.15 crore
- Players in Squad: Total 15, Overseas 6
- Spots to Fill: Total 10, Overseas 2
Trading Window
In: Marcus Stoinis
Out: Quinton de Kock, Mandeep Singh, Brendon McCullum, Chris Woakes, Corey Anderson, Sarfraz Khan.
(Matches played by released players in IPL 2018: 43)
Retained: Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Parthiv Patel, Washington Sundar, Pawan Negi, Moeen Ali, Colin de Grandhomme, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Siraj, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Kulwant Khejroliya, Nathan Coulter-Nile.
Needed at IPL 2019 Auction
- Batsmen, batsmen and more batsmen
- Utility overseas options, preferably from West Indies or New Zealand
- Back-ups for Moeen Ali and Marcus Stoinis (both likely to leave early for WC preps)
- 1-2 domestic bowling back-ups
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