Royal Challengers Bangalore’s auction day in a nutshell

It was two intense days of discussions at the individual franchise tables where the owners and the management of the IPL teams came together to lay down the building blocks. Strategies were rethought, notebooks were exhausted, the bloated purse was squeezed down to its last atom and an army of superstars was forged.

Royal Challengers Bangalore had their eyes set on quite a few players that would come together to join the likes of Maxwell, Kohli, and Siraj to complete the Challengers. There were quite a few splurges while there were absolute steals too. Let us quickly brief you about the purchases that the Challengers made for the imminent edition of the IPL.

Our first purchase on Saturday was experienced T20 campaigner, South African power-hitter, former Proteas skipper, and one of the most electrifying fielders in the cricketing roster, Faf du Plessis. The South African was bought at a fine price of Rs 7 crore.

The second purchase on the day was RCB’s most menacing bowler in the preceding edition of the tournament, Harshal Patel. Even though he was bought for a staggering Rs 10.75 crore, the gentry of medium-fast bowling that he brings to the side is absolutely indispensable.

Another re-introduction to the squad was Sri Lankan spinner, Wanindu Hasaranga. The all-rounder was bought for Rs 10.75 crore. The Lankan mystery spinner sits at the top of the bowler rankings in T20I cricket.

Former KKR skipper, Dinesh Karthik was next in the queue as the Challengers snapped him up for a paltry Rs 5.5 crore. He has already proven his worth in the shortest format of the game and can be an absolute destroyer when his team needs him to be. He is also the leading man to keep the stumps for the Challengers.

The supporters exploded in a delirious frenzy of elations as the Challengers bagged Australian expressman, Josh Hazlewood for just Rs 7.75 crore. Hazlewood was the man of the match in Australia’s latest encounter as he claimed three crucial scalps in the regulation 20 overs and also defended 9 runs in the super over.

The Challengers bought back another of their own from the previous season, Shabaz Ahmed. His all-round ability is hard to come by and with Hesson and Bangar at the helm of affairs, it won’t be astonishing to see him belt out a few fine displays.

Unheralded Indian names are always an enigma. Anuj Rawat was no exception to the same. However, if you want to know about the young Indian wicket-keeping batter, his debut knock of 70 is an ode to his burning brilliance. He was bought for Rs 3.4 crore.

Akash Deep was the last purchase on the opening day to bolster the batting unit of the Challengers. He has previously been a part of the RCB squad and he was bought for a paltry Rs 20 lakh.

It was a busy second day for the Challengers as they put behind a silent start to rack up Mahipal Lomror as their first pick. He was bought by RCB for Rs 95 lakh.

Finn Allen was Royal Challengers’ next purchase and his inclusion to the side at a modest Rs 80 lakh was nothing short of grand larceny at the auctions.

RCB wanted a reliable middle-order batter who could put in a staunch shift to bail them out if there was a sudden collapse. They had a proper response in the form of Sherfane Rutherford.

The Challengers added further depth to their bowling lineup as the next man to be snapped up was Australian quick, Jason Behrendorff who was taken up for a modest amount of Rs 75 lakh.

Suyash Prabhudessai was the next man in for the squad and the Challengers bagged him for a meagre Rs 30 lakh, and this was also a solid riposte to the growing concern of a middle-order void.

Like the way RCB harnessed a young and roaring Mohammed Siraj, similarly, they set their eyes upon another rising sensation, Chama Milind. He has already bagged 83 wickets in T20 at an economy rate of 7.62.

The first local lad to be picked was Aneeshwar Gautam. An exciting young spinner who was also a crucial element of the Indian U19 World Cup-winning squad made the cut for his first IPL cameo and he came at a price of Rs 20 lakh.

The man they say with the champion’s luck, Karn Sharma was bought by the Challengers for a meagre Rs 50 lakh. Let’s keep aside the luck factor. He is also an excellent spinner and more importantly in the extant ocean of conventional spin, his enigmatic wrist spin is a challenge for the batters to crack.

As the day headed to a close, RCB ensured that they made the most of it. The next man bought for the ranks was an experienced Siddharth Kaul at a price of Rs 75 lakh. 

Add to that a pint of local pride and Luvnith Sisodia was snapped up by the Challengers for his base price.

The final pick for the Challengers army was English all-rounder, David Willey. He was deemed at one point in time as an unstoppable sensation for his meteoric ascent to glory. Even though there was a fall from grace, he still continues to dominate the proceedings in T20 cricket.