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Former Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain Anil Kumble has voiced his discontent with the team’s showing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 mini auction held at Dubai’s Coca-Cola Arena on December 19.
RCB’s performance in IPL 2024 Auction
At the IPL 2024 mini auction, RCB secured overseas players in the form of Alzarri Joseph, Lockie Ferguson and Tom Curran. Their most significant Indian acquisition was Yash Dayal, and the team concluded the auction with a couple of low-profile signings.
Anil Kumble’s discontent with RCB’s strategy
Speaking to Jio Cinema, Kumble expressed dissatisfaction with the team’s showing at the Dubai auction. Giving RCB a rating of not more than seven, Kumble highlighted the team’s struggle to effectively replace the released players.
“I think I agree with this in terms of the rating, I don’t think they go beyond seven, because when you look at an auction, you’re looking to better what you have done in the past or released. The three bowlers they released, if you look at Hasaranga, Hazlewood and Harshal Patel, have you picked players better than them?,” Kumble said.
Absence of proper spinner
The 53-year-old particularly noted the absence of a spinner in the squad, emphasizing that RCB did not get their strategy right in the IPL 2024 auction.
“They still require a spinner. They don’t have a spinner. Even at the M Chinnaswamy stadium, it’s the wicket-taking spinners who always perform better. So they don’t have that. They’ll have to lean back on Karn Sharma, who hardly played last season. He was the impact bowler for them, but didn’t play all the matches. So it’s a huge ask and then they’ve made a trade as well. So it’s not easy without a spinner. I don’t think they got it quite right,” the Bengaluru-born cricketer concluded.
Also READ: Netizens shell-shocked as RCB buys Alzarri Joseph for a whopping amount
Pre-auction trades and player releases
Before the auction, RCB engaged in notable pre-auction trades, acquiring Cameron Green from Mumbai Indians (MI) and Mayank Dagar from Sunrisers Hyderabad. However, they released eleven players during the retention process, including prominent names like Wanindu Hasaranga, Josh Hazlewood and Harshal Patel.
RCB’s auction signings
RCB added six players to their squad during the auction, including Yash (INR 5 crore), Joseph (INR11.50 crore), Curran (INR 1.50 crore), Ferguson (INR 2 crore), Swapnil Singh (INR 20 lakh) and Saurav Chauhan (INR 20 lakh).
