IPL Auction 2020: How RCB line up for the season | Best and worst buys
Royal Challengers Bangalore had a decent budget going into the IPL 2020 auction, but they had a few key slots to fill as well. With 27.9 crore in their pocket, they were looking for an overseas finisher, an overseas fast bowler and a back-up keeper for Parthiv Patel.
While they managed to seal a couple of good deals in the auction, the most noticeable of which was the Aussie opener, Aaron Finch, they would still be a little disappointed with their overall work.
RCB couldn’t get the right kind of fast bowlers they needed to fill the loopholes in their bowling. They needed fast bowlers who could bowl yorkers rather than those who bowl good length and mostly rely on variations. But, all the three overseas fast bowlers they ended up buying fall in the second category.
Here are the players RCB bought in the auction:
Chris Morris – 10 crore
Aaron Finch – 4.40 crore
Kane Richardson – 4 crore
Isuru Udana – 50 lac
Dale Steyn – 2 crore
Joshua Philippe – 20 lac
Shahbaz Ahmed – 20 lac
Pavan Deshpande – 20 lac
Here is the full squad of RCB after IPL 2020 auction:
Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Gurkeerat Mann, Devdutt Padikkal, Aaron Finch, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Kane Richardson, Dale Steyn, Isuru Udana, Moeen Ali, Pawan Negi, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Chris Morris, Pavan Deshpande Parthiv Patel, Joshua Philippe, Shahbaz Ahamad
Best buys (Aaron Finch, Joshua Philippe)
While RCB’s middle order was always strong with Virat Kohli batting at 3 and AB De Villiers batting at 4, they needed someone explosive at the top of the order to take the game to the opposition in the powerplay. Aaron Finch is exactly the kind of player who can do that for them. He can tee off in the powerplay and lay the platform for Kohli-De Villiers.
Joshua Philippe, at 20 lac, was an absolute steal for RCB. He is a young man and is still learning his trade, but he is one of the most talked about players in the domestic circuit of Australia.
Philippe hits the ball really hard and can clear any ground in the world. He is a keeper too. So if, at any stage, RCB decide to drop Parthiv Patel and move Moeen Ali or Kohli up the order, Philippe can come into the picture.
Worst buy (Chris Morris)
Chris Morris.
Chris Morris is a decent all-rounder, but his performance in the last year and a half hasn’t been great either with bat or ball. He had a dismal run in IPL 2019 as well which was why he was released by the Delhi Capitals.
His current form hasn’t been encouraging either. Even in the recently concluded MSL, Morris went at a rate of more than 8 per over in the 11 games that he played. He could still have been bought at a bargain price, but 10 crore, given his recent form, was way too much for him.