IPL Auction: Opting for rebuild, strong attack and middle-order headlines RCB new-look squad | Cricket News

It was a strange couple of days for Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the auction table in Jeddah. With their head coach Andy Flower getting a clear look at the team last season, they wanted to start fresh as it was evident when they retained only three players in Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar and Yash Dayal. And after two days of intense bidding, this is how their squad looks:
Batsmen
Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Tim David, Manoj Bhandage, Devdutt Padikkal, Swastik Chikara.
Wicketkeepers
Phil Salt, Jitesh Sharma.
All-rounders
Liam Livingstone (spin), Krunal Pandya (spin), Swapnil Singh (spin), Romario Shepherd (pace), Jacob Bethell (spin), Mohit Rathee (spin).
Spinners
Suyash Sharma, Abhinandan Singh.
Fast bowlers
Josh Hazlewood, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yash Dayal (retained), Rasikh Salam, Nuwan Thushara, Lungi Ngidi.
First impression
At times it was hard to understand what RCB were up to, especially when they let go off KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan. Getting one of them would have definitely added more strength to their local talent. And strangely, they didn’t even use the RTM option on Glenn Maxwell, Mohammed Siraj and Will Jacks and instead went for a completely different outlook. It got them Phil Salt, Liam Livingstone, Tim David – three aggressive, power-hitters who will ensure they are just dependent on a couple of batsmen. Similarly, their bowling attack has the variety and the necessary resources to take care of the unforgiving home conditions at M Chinnaswamy stadium. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal and Lungi Ngidi make up a strong pace attack and for X-factor, have Nuwan Thushara, whose slinging action could be hard to pick. For a change, there was clarity in what they wanted and overall go back with a strong, balanced squad on paper.
Area of concern
There are not enough left-handed batsmen in the mix, which means they could be forced to add one, which could affect their balance.
Likely XII (Impact Player included)
1 Virat Kohli, 2 Phil Salt, 3 Liam Livingstone, 4 Rajat Patidar, 5 Tim David/Jacob Bethell, 6 Jitesh Sharma, 7 Krunal Pandya, 8 Rasikh Salam, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Yash Dayal, 12 Suyash Sharma/Manoj Bhandage.