IPL 2020: 3 players who could be surplus to RCB
The 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will take place in 2020 as all the franchises gear up for the first IPL of the new decade. IPL Auction 2020 had taken place last month where the think tanks of all the teams tried their best to form a solid squad. The perennial underachievers, Royal Challengers Bangalore had been in the headlines after they released a bunch of players from their squad.
The team’s new head coach, Mike Hesson oversaw the signing of several big names such as Chris Morris, Aaron Finch and Isuru Udana in the auction. Besides, the team had kept quite a few talented names from their previous season hence, the RCB squad looks stacked ahead of the season. The franchise bought a few backups in the auction but there are a few sections where RCB have too many resources.
Also see – India vs Australia schedule
Therefore, the following three players could be surplus to RCB's needs in IPL 2020:
#3 Kane Richardson
One of the team's new signings, Kane Richardson may face tough competition in the RCB squad and he may not get a chance to play for the team. The Bold Army had retained Navdeep Saini, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj and Shivam Dube prior to the auction while they bought the services of Dale Steyn, Isuru Udana, Chris Morris and Richardson in the auction.
Comparing the statistics of the overseas pace bowling options, the fans can know that the Aussie fast bowler has the least IPL experience among the right-arm pacers. Udana has never played in the tournament but he will bring the 'X-factor' element with his left-arm action. Morris and Steyn are IPL veterans while Richardson has only played 3 IPL seasons in his career.
His last IPL appearance came way back in 2016. There is no doubt over the talent that Richardson has but because of the severe competition in the team, he might prove surplus for RCB.
#2 Mohammed Siraj
Just like Kane Richardson, Mohammed Siraj is known for his wicket-taking ability in limited overs cricket. However, the Indian pacer leaks run at a very expensive economy rate. Glancing at his numbers in the previous two IPL seasons, the fans can learn about his issues.
Siraj played 11 matches for RCB in IPL 2018 where he picked up 11 wickets at an average of 33.36. His economy rate was 8.93 in that season. In IPL 2019, the fast bowler could only scalp 7 wickets in 9 games while he gave away runs at a higher economy rate of 9.55.
The 25-year-old could not keep a check on the run-flow in the death overs which cost RCB several games. With Navdeep Saini's rise in the cricket world and Umesh Yadav's improvement in the bowling department, it is unlikely that the IPL 2016 runners-up would include another Indian fast bowler in the team. Thus, Siraj would not be the first choice player for the Virat Kohli-led franchise.
#1 Pavan Deshpande
The Dharwad-born domestic star, Pavan Deshpande was a part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore squad last year. However, the all-rounder is yet to receive his maiden IPL cap. The left-handed batsman has played 20 T20 matches so far where he has scored 426 runs at a strike rate of 149.47.
Talking about his performances with the ball, the 25-year-old has scalped 4 wickets in 11 innings with his right-arm off-spin. Although he has been one of the most promising players in the domestic circuit, he is unlikely to feature in the RCB playing XI.
RCB have England's superstar, Moeen Ali who has the same skills while the team management would pick Washington Sundar and Pawan Negi as the team's top two Indian spin bowling all-rounders. Hence, Deshpande's services would be surplus to Royal Challengers Bangalore's needs once again.