IPL Auction 2020: 3 teams who will be looking to sign fast bowlers
Being a fast bowler is one of the most challenging tasks in T20 cricket. They're expected to pick wickets with the new ball -- when batsmen want to take advantage of the powerplays -- and at the death -- when batsmen are at their aggressive best. This is why it has become extremely vital for teams to have quality pacers in their squads.
Indian Premier League teams have understood this and have focused on having skillful fast bowlers who can bowl effectively with the new ball as well as in the death. While it is important to have bowlers who can bowl with control, it is equally important to have attacking bowlers who are wicket-takers. Every team wants a balanced pace-attack. Also, as fast bowlers are more susceptible to injuries and teams should make sure that they have enough backup options.
A lot of teams failed last season due to underperforming pace attack and have released a lot of fast bowlers this time around. Here are three teams that will need to sign fast bowlers at the auction to make up for the release of fast bowlers.
#3 Royal Challengers Bangalore
Squad: AB de Villiers, Devdutt Padikkal, Gurkeerat Singh, Moeen Ali, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Parthiv Patel, Pawan Negi, Shivam Dube, Umesh Yadav, Virat Kohli, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal.
After last season's debacle, Royal Challengers Bangalore released as many as 12 players, of which four were fast bowlers. While they retained their faith in Indian pacers Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini and Mohammed Siraj, they axed overseas pacers Tim Southee, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Dale Steyn. Even though they have retained the Indian lot, RCB will be worried about their pace department as except for Navdeep Saini none of the pacers were able to make an impression last season. This means buying fast bowlers will be one of their top priorities at the auction.
Also see – World Test Championship points table