"They have now Virat Kohli's form also with them" - Irfan Pathan says RCB look pretty much a settled side
Irfan Pathan feels the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) look like a settled unit ahead of the IPL 2023 auction and that Virat Kohli's excellent recent form will further help their cause in next year's tournament.
RCB have retained 18 players ahead of the auction to be held in Kochi on December 23. They have a remaining purse of ₹8.75 crores, which can only be used to acquire up to seven players.
While speaking on the Star Sports show 'Game Plan', Pathan opined that RCB is a well-rounded unit, elaborating:
"As far as I am concerned, RCB look pretty much a settled side. They have fantastic openers. They have now Virat Kohli's form also with them. They have four players who could actually do both the jobs."
The former Indian all-rounder highlighted that the three-time finalists have a plethora of multi-faceted players, explaining:
"Maxwell and Lomror can bowl, they are the batters who can bowl. Hasaranga and Shahbaz Ahmed - they both can actually bat as well. So they have quite a few all-rounders, and they have good fast bowlers in Hazlewood and Harshal Patel."
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Faf du Plessis and Co. will hope that Glenn Maxwell is fully fit and available for next year's IPL. The Australian all-rounder underwent surgery after breaking his leg during a birthday party and is unsure when he can return to action.
Irfan Pathan on the areas RCB can look to improve at the IPL 2023 auction
Pathan believes the perennial underachievers can become even more formidable if they acquire a quality seamer at the auction. He said:
"The only thing, which I thought last year, they were bowling Akash Deep in the power play, who is quite young, who bowled pretty decently whenever he got the chance. But if they can have one quality fast bowler who can bowl with the new ball, I think that side of RCB will look even better."
The cricketer-turned-commentator reckons the Bangalore-based franchise will also be looking for a backup for Josh Hazlewood along with domestic middle-order batters, observing:
"Hazlewood - we need to keep in mind that it is an Ashes year and it's very important for Australia and England players. So if you have a backup for him, I think that's what they must be thinking. If they find a good fast bowler and a few domestic players, middle-order batters, as far as the backup is concerned, I think they will do pretty well."
"Today went really well..."
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Hazlewood's Australian seam bowling partners, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc have already opted out of IPL 2023. With Australia also playing a four-match Test series against India ahead of next year's IPL, the new-ball bowler might not be available for the entire duration of the tournament.