RCB trade Shahbaz Ahmed for SRH's Mayank Dagar ahead of IPL 2024 - Reports
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) have agreed to a trade that involves all-rounders Shahbaz Ahmed and Mayank Dagar. According to a report by Cricbuzz, the two Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises have wrapped up the late trade ahead of the deadline tomorrow, and an official statement is imminent.
Shahbaz was a constant presence in RCB's playing XI to provide balance as the second spinner and a lower-order batter. He was roped in for ₹2.4 crore in the 2022 mega-auction and proceeded to have a prolific season, which led to a maiden national team call-up. However, he endured a poor 2023 season, where he scored only 42 runs and took one wicket in 10 matches.
Dagar, on the other hand, is a player of a similar profile when compared to Shahbaz (bowling all-rounder), being a slow left-arm orthodox spinner, but a right-handed batter. He was part of the Kings XI Punjab (now renamed as Punjab Kings) team in 2018 and was roped in by SRH in the mini-auction for ₹1.8 crore.
He made three appearances for the franchise in the 2023 season, claiming one wicket at an economy rate of 7.55.
RCB could part ways with Harshal Patel and Wanindu Hasaranga while SRH contemplating Harry Brook ahead of the deadline
The franchises have to submit the list of their retained and released players by Sunday, November 26. As a result, the teams can conduct trade for players up until the deadline.
Both SRH and RCB have new coaches at the helm in the form of Daniel Vettori and Andy Flower, respectively, and have some crucial decisions to make ahead of the retention deadline as well as the mini-auction.
Releasing players would spruce up the franchise's purse for the 2024 mini-auction, and RCB are looking to free up funds with the potential departures of Harshal Patel and Wanindu Hasaranga. Both players had arguably underwhelming campaigns in 2023 and were roped in for a large sum of money in the IPL 2022 mega-auction. Releasing both players will hand RCB a boost of ₹21.25 crore to their purse.
SRH are also considering the fate of their own big-money signing - Harry Brook. The England international, despite scoring a hundred in the 2023 season, had a horrid campaign. The 2016 IPL champions can see their purse increased by ₹13.25 crore if they choose to release Brook into the player pool.