IPL 2019: 3 ex-players Royal Challengers Bangalore regret not retaining
Royal Challengers Bangalore are the perennial under-achievers of the Indian Premier League. Over the years, despite having a squad filled with superstars, RCB could not get their hands on the coveted IPL trophy. While their wrong on-field decision making and poor team selection could be cited as the primary reasons behind their poor showing, RCB have also made a few blunders in the IPL auctions over the years.
In a tournament like IPL, matches are not only won at the ground but also at the auction table. RCB team is struggling once again in the IPL after losing first 4 matches and are well behind in the race to qualify for playoffs. RCB might have been well equipped to challenge for the title if the team management hadn’t let go some of their star players.
Hence let’s take a look at 3 players Royal Challengers are regretting not retaining.
Quinton de Kock
RCB traded the South African wicketkeeper-batsman to Mumbai Indians ahead of IPL Auction. This move has already come back to haunt RCB as they don’t have a solid opener to partner Parthiv Patel at the top. Royal Challengers have already experimented with Virat Kohli and Moeen Ali for the opening slot, but the move hasn’t worked for them yet.
Quinton de Kock is an aggressive batsman by nature who can provide flying starts to his team. He already has formed a formidable opening partnership with Rohit Sharma for Mumbai Indians. While RCB keeps struggling with their opening combination, they are now regretting their decision of trading Quinton de Kock.
Kedar Jadhav
Kedar Jadhav is an absolute world-class middle-order batsman who can finish matches. Kedar Jadhav played for RCB in IPL 2017. They decided against retaining him ahead of the IPL auctions 2018 where the Chennai Super Kings eventually snatched him.
RCB is a top-heavy team in which Virat Kohli and AB de Villers manage the maximum workload of scoring runs. As evident in the last season, if opposition successfully removes these two early, then RCB batting can collapse. Even this season, RCB has failed miserably so far because Kohli and de Villers haven’t played as per their usual standards yet.
In such a situation, a player like Jadhav would have done wonders. He is now an experienced player who has sharpened his teeth under MS Dhoni in Indian Cricket Team. Moreover, his tricky low-arm off-spin bowling would have been a bonus for Virat Kohli.
KL Rahul
RCB didn’t retain KL Rahul ahead of IPL 2018 auctions and immediately regretted their decision when Rahul almost took Kings XI Punjab to the playoffs single-handedly. Rahul went on to score 659 runs in 14 matches averaging 54.91 at an astounding strike rate of 158.41.
The stylish lad from Karnataka is a class player with an exceptional ability to hit a cricket ball. Moreover, had he stayed with Royal Challengers, not only he would have solved the RCB’s opening woes but RCB team management could have saved their foreign player slot in the playing XI which could have been used to field an extra all-rounder or pace bowler in the team.