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IPL 2017 auction: Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers-rich Royal Challengers Bangalore stick to bowler-only bidding

A team that has players such as Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Chris Gayle, Shane Watson, KL Rahul, among others was sure not to pick any more batsmen, and that is what Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) did during the auctions of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2017 in Bangalore.

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Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) picked bowlers and all-rounders © AFP
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) picked bowlers and all-rounders © AFP

A team that has players such as Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Chris Gayle, Shane Watson, KL Rahul, among others was sure not to pick any more batsmen, and that is what Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) did during the auctions of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2017 in Bangalore. Over the past few years, RCB have been reliant on their heavy and envious batting line-up. What they needed to sort was their bowling, especially the pace attack. In this auction, they picked three specialist bowlers and a couple of all-rounders to rearrange their attack, and eventually come into action with all departments strengthened.

RCB’s big blow is Mitchell Starc’s withdrawal from IPL. Though the bowler was not available the previous season, he had been one of the driving forces for the side for the year before. While it is very difficult to replace such a world-class bowler, the management settled for new T20 sensation Tymal Mills, who has recently impressed one and all with his performance in domestic events such as Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) and Pakistan Super League (PSL). He has a varied attack and can generate threatening pace. In addition, he has a darting action with accurate pitching.

The other two options in the bowling that RCB have picked are young guns Aniket Choudhary and Billy Stanlake. Choudhary is not a new name in the Indian domestic circuit, courtesy his four scalps against Bangladesh in the warm-up match. The ‘local Mitchell Starc’ will definitely be a name to watch out for. Stanlake, on the other hand, has an advantage of his 6’8” height that will help him trouble the batsmen with mighty bouncers.

Now, let’s have a look at the downside. RCB’s first issue is with their composition of overseas players. Why the team needed more of domestic pacers than overseas is the fact that most of their impactful players are from overseas, which leaves them with barely one slot for a foreign bowler. This very fact compelled them to choose Stanlake and Mills. Apart from this, both are not very experienced. Mills’ India experience is limited to the Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) that he played during England’s tour of India 2016-17, while Stanlake is yet to bowl on Indian soil.

Bangalore’s home-ground, that is MA Chinnaswamy Stadium, is known to be a ground favourable for the batsmen. It has witnessed many high-scoring contests. To matters worse, the boundaries are small, which makes it a paradise for batsmen. With many hard-hitters playing in the contest, the plans are likely to backfire for the bowlers. Accuracy, however, will be the key for these players if picked to play.

The other two names, Praveen Dubey and Pawan Negi, will increase the bench strength. If slots are available, the domestic players will be handy.

Squad (foreign players are underlined): Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers, Chris Gayle, Yuzvendra Chahal, Harshal Patel, Mandeep Singh, Adam Milne, Sarfaraz Khan, Sreenath Aravind, Kedar Jadhav, Shane Watson, Stuart Binny, Samuel Badree, Travis Head, Sachin Baby, Iqbal Abdulla, KL Rahul, Avesh Khan, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tymal Mills, Aniket Choudhary, Pawan Negi, Billy Stanlake, Praveen Dubey

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