Ranking Royal Challengers Bangalore's buys on Day 1 of IPL 2022 Auction
Royal Challengers Bangalore retained three players ahead of the IPL 2022 Auction. They kept hold of their former skipper Virat Kohli, dangerous all-rounder Glenn Maxwell and ace fast bowler Mohammed Siraj.
On the opening day of the mega auction, RCB spent ₹47.75 crore to acquire the services of eight players. In this listicle, we rank the eight signings made by RCB on Day 1.
#1 Faf du Plessis at ₹7 crore was Royal Challengers Bangalore's best buy on Day 1 of IPL 2022 Auction
Royal Challengers Bangalore started the auction with a bang by signing Faf du Plessis for ₹7 crore. Not only is he a run machine, but Faf can also be a captaincy candidate for RCB.
The South African star majorly plays only in the T20 leagues, meaning he will be available for all matches. He is also one of the fittest cricketers the world right now. So RCB made a fantastic call by signing du Plessis.
#2 Josh Hazlewood - ₹7.75 crore
Josh Hazlewood was the only player to win the IPL and the ICC T20 World Cup last year. He has emerged as one of the top T20 bowlers over the last few months. Most recently, he took a four-wicket haul in the SCG T20I against Sri Lanka.
Hazlewood can form a match-winning combination with Mohammed Siraj in RCB's pace attack.
#3 Harshal Patel - ₹10.75 crore
IPL 2021 MVP Harshal Patel returned to RCB at the mega auction. Bangalore seemingly made a strategic error by not retaining Harshal because they could have saved ₹1.75 crore had they retained him.
Nevertheless, Harshal proved himself to be a match-winner last year, and if he continues in the same vein, RCB can end their title drought in IPL 2022.
#4 Wanindu Hasaranga - ₹10.75 crore
Not all fans of the Royal Challengers Bangalore were happy to see the team spending ₹10.75 crore to re-sign Wanindu Hasaranga, but they should note that he is the number one bowler on the ICC T20I Rankings right now.
Hasaranga took the highest number of wickets by a bowler in the T20 World Cup last year. His batting skills make him a valuable bowling all-rounder.
#5 Shahbaz Ahmed - ₹2.4 crore
Shahbaz Ahmed is another valuable all-rounder signed by Royal Challengers Bangalore. The all-rounder can bat as a floater and bowl economical overs of left-arm spin in the middle.
If used well, Ahmed and Hasaranga could wreak havoc in the 2022 IPL season while playing for RCB.
#6 Dinesh Karthik - ₹5.5 crore
It was a little surprising to see the Royal Challengers Bangalore not going all out for KS Bharat, especially after his excellent performance in IPL 2021. The RCB instead went for a more experienced wicket-keeping option.
Dinesh Karthik has returned to RCB for the first time since the 2015 season. He did not have a memorable outing with Bangalore in 2015, but he will be keen to put up better performances this time around.
#7 Anuj Rawat - ₹3.4 crore
Another eyebrow-raising decision made by the RCB team management was to sign uncapped wicket-keeper Anuj Rawat for ₹3.4 crore at the IPL 2022 Auction. Fans should note that just before RCB bought Rawat, they allowed Delhi Capitals to sign KS Bharat for ₹2 crore.
Rawat does not have much IPL experience under his belt, but he has been impressive in domestic cricket. It will be exciting to see how he performs for Bangalore.
#8 Akash Deep - ₹20 lakh
Royal Challengers Bangalore signed Akash Deep at the base price of ₹20 lakh at the mega auction. Akash was with RCB last year as well, but he did not get a single game.
The pace-bowling all-rounder will hope that the RCB gives him a chance to play in IPL 2022. For the record, he has scalped 26 wickets and scored 42 runs in his domestic T20 career of 21 matches.