The countdown for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 auction is getting shorter day by day, and teams are bracing themselves to select the best possible combination to clinch the title.
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) finished at the last spot in 2019 edition and will be looking forward to changing the history as they have released a majority of players ahead of the 2020 auction.
Over the past few years, RCB have been hugely dependent on Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. So, they would look to find the best players to decrease the burden that Kohli and de Villiers are bearing.
Let’s have a look at three players for whom RCB could bid in the upcoming auction:
Aaron Finch
RCB relies too much on Kohli and De Villiers, and that destabilizes their middle-order as the skipper comes in as an opener. But if Challengers would find an impressive opening batsman, then they will get a solution.
Australia’s limited over caption Aaron Finch is the right choice for the Team Red. In T20 cricket currently, he is the best opener; however, he has failed to perform in the IPL so far.
Finch has represented seven teams across in IPL. He likes the ball to come at him as he enjoys pacers and good batting tracks, and the wicket at Chinnaswamy Stadium will suit his batting style.
The 33-year-old is an outstanding power-hitter of pace bowling and can also whack spinners out of the park. Finch, along with Parthiv Patel or Devdutt Padikkal, can form a good opening pair. He likes to play big shots and doesn’t take much time to settle.
Apart from his batting and bit of part-time bowling, Finch is an excellent captain as well, and Kohli sometimes requires help on the field, so in that perspective too, the Aussie can help Kohli.
Glenn Maxwell
Another Australian power-hitter Glenn Maxwell is back in the auctions, and franchisees would be eyeing on him. He would also be hungry to hit the ground running after taking a break from the game.
RCB lacks a solid player in the lower middle-order, and in the past, they have failed to compensate whenever they lost Kohli and de Villiers early. So, having someone down the order would help the team in crisis, and Maxwell, due to his attacking game, can do wonders for RCB.
The right-hander could be an excellent acquisition for RCB as he is a handy bowler and a dynamic fielder, and all these qualities sit perfectly with Kohli. A batting order which will have Kohli, de Villiers, and Maxwell can give nightmares to the opposition.
Sheldon Cottrell
Probably the biggest reason behind RCB’s failure is the lack of good death bowlers. On multiple occasions, their bowlers have conceded too many runs, which eventually cost them many matches.
If one sees the current squad, then they do not have any death bowler apart from Navdeep Saini, and doesn’t look fully ready yet. Thus, they need a pacer who has experience in bowling death overs, and the West Indian left-arm bowler Sheldon Cottrell can be a perfect candidate.
The natural angle that he creates always troubles the right-hand batsmen. He can swing the ball both ways. Also, the action of Cottrell helps him to bowl perfect yorkers, and that’s why he becomes difficult to hit in the slog overs. So, Challengers could go for him as he adds a different dimension to their bowling.
