‘We Needed To Improve At Home’, Asserts Skipper Faf Du Plessis As RCB Strengthens Bowling Unit At IPL 2024 Player Auction
New Delhi: Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) made strategic acquisitions to successfully achieve optimal team balance at the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 Player Auction in Dubai on Tuesday.
As RCB executed well thought out six bids to shape a strong squad for the upcoming season, skipper Faf du Plessis highlighted that it was a busy time for him and the think tank as they invested a lot of time in developing a comprehensive plan which helped to enter the auction with much more clarity. He said the team’s focus was to pick the players who will perform well at home.
With a strong nucleus already present in the top order with players like Du Plessis, Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell and Rajat Patidar, and having acquired services of all-rounder Cameron Green, who adds excellent depth to the batting, RCB’s focussed approach in the auction saw them securing more strength in the bowling department.
West Indian aggressive paceman Alzarri Joseph (₹11.50 Cr) became the first buy for RCB at the auction. The 27-year-old holds the record for the best-ever bowling figures in the IPL of 6-12 and can be a quality option in death overs. They further added more speed into their attack by picking up New Zealand’s fast bowler Lockie Ferguson (₹2 Cr) and England’s Tom Curran (₹1.50 Cr).
RCB also added Indian left-arm pacer Yash Dayal (₹5 Cr) and spin all-rounder Swapnil Singh (₹20 lacs) to ensure variation in the bowling attack. They bought talented young wicketkeeper Saurav Chauhan (₹20 lacs) from Gujarat to complete a 25-member squad. Chauhan made the headlines in the 2023 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy when he smashed 18-ball 61.
RCB Full Squad for IPL 2024
Retained Players: Faf du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik, Suyash Prabhudessai, Will Jacks, Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma, Manoj Bhandage, Mayank Dagar (from SRH), Vijaykumar Vyshak, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma, Rajan Kumar, Cameron Green (from MI).
New Buys: Alzarri Joseph (₹11.50 crore), Yash Dayal (₹5 crore), Tom Curran (₹1.5 crore), Lockie Ferguson (₹2 crore), Swapnil Singh (₹20 lakh), Saurav Chauhan (₹20 lakh).