The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 mega-auction is nearing and the franchises are busy chalking out their plans for the bidding war. With a vast pool of top-tier players available on the table, the drama and excitement on February 12 and 13 cannot be missed.
Amidst this, a report has emerged that has revealed Royal Challengers Bangalore’s strategy for the upcoming auction. The franchise is likely to go all-out and bid heavily to attain the services of Jason Holder, Ambati Rayudu and Riyan Parag.
RCB are without a skipper currently and it is highly possible that their think tank sees Holder as the next leader of the team, considering the West Indian has fared well in the same role for his national side. Holder’s recent performance in international cricket makes him a hot property.
“Ben Stokes isn’t available, Hardik Pandya and Marcus Stoinis are taken. Mitchell Marsh you never know whether he can survive a full IPL with his injury prone career, Holder has been phenomenal if one looks at his record. RCB will like to go the distance as some others will also pitch in,” a source close to RCB was quoted as saying by PTI.
RCB likely to bid for Ambati Rayudu, Riyan Parag, Jason Holder
While RCB have always been a top-heavy team, Maxwell last year solved their middle-order muddle. Looking for more domestic middle-order batters, the Bangalore-based franchise is interested in acquiring Rayudu and Riyan.
Rayudu has contributed significantly to CSK’s success, while Parag is a promising youngster and showed glimpses of his talent in RR.
“For Holder, they have reserved Rs 12 crore and another Rs 8 crore for Rayudu and Rs 7 crore for Parag. If they spend Rs 27 crore approximately on these players, they would have another Rs 28 crore left,” the source mentioned.
“The core with Kohli, Maxwell, Siraj, Holder, Rayudu, and Parag will be set. Let’s hope they can get two out of the preferred three, the source said,” he added.
Retaining three players for the 2022 IPL season, RCB have the likes of Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell and Mohammed Siraj in their squad. They have Rs. 57 crore left in their auction purse.