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RCB IPL 2021 Auction Analysis: How did they perform? | Analysis of the performance of Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2021 Auction

Retained Players: Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Devdutt Padikkal, Md. Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Joshua Phillipe, Pavan Deshpande, Shahbaz Ahmed, Adam Zampa, Kane Richardson.

Players bought: Kyle Jamieson (INR 15 crore), Glenn Maxwell (INR 14.25 crore), Dan Christian (INR 4.8 crore), Sachin Baby (INR 20 lakh), Rajat Patidar (INR 20 lakh), Mohammed Azharuddeen (INR 20 lakh), Suyash Prabhudesai (INR 20 lakh), KS Bharat (INR 20 lakh).

Money Left: INR 0.35 crores

Potential XI: Devdutt Padikkal, Mohammed Azharudden, Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, AB De Villiers, Sachin Baby, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kyle Jamieson, Kane Richardson, Navdeep Saini

Alternate XI: Josh Phillipe, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, AB De Villiers, Sachin Baby/Suyash Prabhudesai, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kyle Jamieson, Mohammad Siraj, Navdeep Saini

Analysis:

Ahead of the upcoming IPL, there are a couple of things which will strike the most about RCB.

The charasterical issue of lack of death bowlers might persist as they couldn’t get their hands on the pacers which could have been the best bets; Chris Morris or Jhye Richardson. They opted to stay out of the race for Nathan Coulter-Nile and Adam Milne and had to go big for Kyle Jamieson as a result. Mike Hesson spent high bucks on the Kiwi pacer as they roped him for 15 crores as they entered a bidding war with the Punjab Kings. Kyle Jamieson hasn’t proved himself on sub-continent tracks and hence, playing him as one of the prime death bowlers might backfire the franchise.

Also, this move is rife with question marks after releasing Chris Morris. Morris, who had a good (but interrupted) IPL 2020 campaign was released with the hope that RCB could buy him back at a cheaper price. But, all hope went out the window as bidding went past 10cr, as Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings were fighting hard to land Morris. Now, RCB have paid 5cr more for a bowler with fewer T20 credentials, particularly at the death.

Glenn Maxwell hasn’t really set the stage on fire in the lucrative T20 league other than 2014 IPL. He was bought for a massive 14.25 crores and the team management has taken a punt on him as he will have the responsibility to take the burden off AB De Villiers’ shoulders in the middle-order. So, how RCB get the best out of Maxwell will be key.

Mohammad Azharuddeen was the Indian wicket-keeper the franchise bought and towards the end, the Virat Kohli-led side also bought Dan Christian as someone who could tonk the ball out of the park in the death overs, as well as bowl key overs with the ball.

However, this year the team doesn’t inspire confidence as one of the best on paper which is quite uncharacteristic to how RCB has been over the years as it has been one of the star-studded teams. At first glance, it does look like the team lacks balance, with four players on huge sums.

RCB IPL 2021 Prediction:

As mentioned earlier, the lack of death bowlers will be a major problem for the franchise. Looking at the overall squad and the balance, they will hope that Glenn Maxwell and Kyle Jamieson fire but it’s too much to ask for and hence a playoff finish will mean that the 3-time runners-up have punched above their weight.

Also read: Rajasthan Royals IPL 2021 Auction Analysis

Written by Sarthak Karkhanis. Follow Sarthak on Twitter today.