Daniel Vettori (right) enters with Royal Challengers Bangalore representatives for the IPL season 11 auction. (EPS | Pushkar V)
BENGALURU: After spending Rs 31 crores on players’ retention earlier, Royal Challengers Bangalore had to be street-smart and they had a decent day, with some shrewd buys.
RCB came in with a clear strategy. They were relatively quiet in the opening few rounds, sitting patiently when other teams were raising their paddle to get big names. The auction started for RCB in the third round when they purchased Brendon McCullum for Rs 3.6 crores.
With AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli already in their ranks, they just needed a good batting supporting cast. They ended up with more than what they bargained for. Quinton de Kock, a steal at Rs 2.8 crore, solves their wicket-keeper and opener query. Getting Moeen Ali for Rs 1.7 crore could prove beneficial as well.
Acquiring Kock might have softened the blow of losing KL Rahul, who could not be retained via RTM after going for a massive sum of Rs 11 crore. However, RCB, like last season, look a little too top heavy, but they have got some decent bowlers like Chris Woakes, Umesh Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal. RCB will look to make good use of the remaining Rs 15.85 crore on Sunday.
