IPL 2020 Auction: 3 all-rounders RCB must look to bring back into the team
It was surprising to see a star-studded Royal Challengers Bangalore line-up failing to register a victory in the first six matches of 2019 IPL and eventually finishing at the bottom of the eight-team standings with just five wins. It will be interesting to see how the team invests at the upcoming IPL 2020 auction to form a strong squad for next season.
Several star T20 all-rounders like Shane Watson, Colin de Grandhomme and Corey Anderson have failed to make much of an impact during their stints at RCB thereby prompting the three-time runners-up to find an ideal T20 player who could serve them efficiently with both the bat and ball.
The search will continue at Kolkata on December 19 as well as they are yet to fix their combination having released as many as 12 players from their 2019 squad. To overcome their heavy-reliance on captain Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers in batting, RCB need all-rounders who could complement as well as step-up in case these two exceptional batsmen meet-up with rare failures apart from bowling useful spells. On that note, let us look at three all-rounders RCB must look to bring back into the team for IPL 2020.
# 3 Moises Henriques
Moises Henriques who has represented six different franchises in the IPL so far, (Kolkata Knight Riders, Delhi Daredevils, Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kings XI Punjab) and was a part of the RCB squad during 2013 IPL. Having been released by Kings XI Punjab ahead of 2020 IPL auction, the Australian all-rounder who didn't play a single game last season for the Mohali-based franchise will be up for grabs. With RCB lacking a proven pace-bowling all-rounder, they need to bid for the current Sydney Sixers skipper who with his big-hitting abilities and pace variations might be a perfect fit for Kohli's men.
The 32-year-old was one of the key members of Sunrisers Hyderbad's title-winning squad in 2016 IPL with his all-round performance scoring 182 runs apart from picking up 12 wickets. He followed it up with a decent performance with the bat for the Orange army in the following season amassing 277 runs in 12 matches at a strike-rate of 136.45 that includes three half-centuries. Unfortunately, he found no buyers at 2018 IPL auction before being bought by Kings XI Punjab for ₹1 crore last season.
Henriques who represents New South Wales in the domestic circuit has been in a sensational form for his side in the 2019-20 Sheffield Shield and in the recently concluded Marsh One-Day Cup. Given his current form, T20 experience and all-round prowess (3508 runs and 108 wickets in T20s) Henriques' comeback to RCB would certainly bolster their squad.