If the sources know RCBThe auction strategy of has to be believed, which has the franchise Virat KohliWith Glenn Maxwell and Mohammad Siraj as retained players, their multiple skill-sets are likely to fetch bids of up to Rs 12 crore, which is rare in this format.
“Ben Stokes is not available, Hardik Pandya and Marcus Stoinis have been taken. Mitchell Marsh You never know if he can survive a full IPL with his injured career, Holder has been phenomenal if one looks at his record RCB would like to go. Some others will also go the distance,” a source close to the franchise told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
It is understood that RCB, who have Rs 57 crore in their auction purse, are interested about three players including Holder, former CSK batsman Ambati Rayudu and young former Rajasthan Royals Turk Riyan Parag.
“For the holder, they have reserved Rs 12 crore and Rs 8 crore for Rayudu and Rs 7 crore for Parag. If they spend around Rs 27 crore on these players, they will have another Rs 28 crore left.
“The core will be set with Kohli, Maxwell, Siraj, Holder, Rayudu and Parag. Let’s hope they can get two out of the three favourites,” the source added.
Although auction dynamics cannot be predicted, Holder has emerged as a powerful IPL auction star, often in the case of multi-skilled players where the market determines the price.
“Chris Morris was a good cricketer, but when he got it was he worth more than Rs 16 crore? Probably not, but the lack of all-rounders left some franchises desperate.
Another senior official of a franchise said, “Even in 2015 by Delhi Daredevils (now Capitals) for Rs 15 crore of Yuvraj Singh, when he was already well ahead of his sales. It was a brand plus market.”
In Rayudu’s case, his contribution to CSK’s success has been enormous and Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s reliance on the tried and tested cast could mean that the defending champions will do their best to bring back Rayudu.
He has been shortlisted for this auction as the keeper-batsman and hence his multi-dimensional skill-set along with his experience make him a worthy candidate for big bucks.
Parag had a poor IPL 2021 after a good edition in 2020. He is a big hitter who also gives the option of bowling with his tight off-breaks, making him a viable proposition.
RCB is also looking for a possible captaincy candidate after Virat Kohli stepped down from the post last season. Whether they buy someone like Shreyas Iyer or request Kohli to do the same for one more season, that is the question.
Speaking on Star Sports, former fast bowler Ajit Agarkar said: “If Virat Kohli can take over the captaincy and if he is happy to do it and if he has the energy to do it, I think it is the easiest solution for him. Will happen.
“At the end of the day, we have seen that RCB have not invested enough money over the years to build a proper team of 12, 13 or 14 players with enough depth.
“It’s always been up to the top three, there’s not enough middle-order players and if you don’t have the money, you can’t do that again. So, if you break the bank for one player, it doesn’t matter. No matter how good he is – will win you the game but will never win you the competition.”
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