IPL 2019: Five players Royal Challengers Bangalore should get in the IPL trade
Season twelve of the cricket’s greatest carnival, Indian Premier League, is still around five months away but the discussions on the off-season trades are gaining heat. The move that sparked the action was Royal Challengers Bangalore trading their South African wicketkeeper-batsman, Quinton De Kock, to Mumbai Indian for 2.8 Crore INR.
The ongoing transfer window opened when the IPL 2018 season ended and shall be closed one month before the auctions for the fresh season takes place. The date for IPL 2019 auctions is earmarked to be 16th December 2018 so the franchises still have around 20 days to adjust their team formations by trading players with other teams.
Royal Challengers Bangalore had another disappointing IPL season in 2018 as they ended sixth on the league table with six wins from their 14 games. Their two megastars, Captain Virat Kohli and AB De Villiers, and the Indian bowler Umesh Yadav gave his best, but it proved inadequate in the end as the team failed to qualify for the playoffs.
The southern team’s tagline “Ee Saala Cup Naamde” (This year trophy is ours) became a butt of jokes in the 2018 season. There were a plenty of selection issues and the team management failed to figure out the right team combination until the very end. The off-season transfer window can help RCB correct a few wrongs.Here are the five players Royal Challengers Bangalore should get in the IPL trade.
#5 Krishnappa Gowtham
The bowling all-rounder came into the limelight last year when Rajasthan Royals signed him for the whopping amount of 6.2 Crores INR. Gowtham picked up 11 wickets in the season and also scored 126 runs while batting down the order. His most memorable performance was his match-winning 33 not out from 11 balls against Mumbai Indians that clinched a much-needed victory for the Royals.
In the 2018 season, RCB suffered two gaping weaknesses. A spinner who could accompany Yuzvendra Chahal and a lower-order batsman who could strike long sixes in the end overs. Washington Sundar, the off-spinner from Tamil Nadu, was unable to provide support to Chahal on turning tracks of Bangalore and the team lost its plot in the middle overs while bowling.
K Gowtham can remedy these problems for the Bangalore franchise. He is an effective right-arm off-spinner who can pin down the batsman with his accuracy and help Chahal attack from the other end. The 30-year old spinner will contribute with the bat as well thus being a valuable lower-order option. The Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore is Gowtham’s home ground and his familiarity with the ground and conditions will be of an immense help to Virat Kohli and co.