Royal Challengers Bangalore were dubbed as a test team and unfit to play the shortest format of the game after the First ever auction of the first ever season of the INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE. The presence of test specialists like Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis and Wasim Jaffer in the squad strengthened their argument. The team lived up to its billing by finishing in the bottom half of the table. The second season of the Indian saw many changes being made including the inclusion of pinch hitter Robin Uthappa who was swapped with Zaheer Khan by Mumbai Indians.
Kevin Pietersen who was made the captain of the team at the beginning of the second season had to leave for national duty midway through the tournament. This proved to be a blessing in disguise for the team as Anil Kumble grabbed his opportunity as captain of the team with both hands guiding the underdogs to the finals. The third season saw RCB Buying Irish batsman Eoin Morgan who did quite well in the matches he played. RCB could not get past the semi finals but they did perform well.
COMING TO THE POINT, RCB should rethink its foreign players strategy during this season’s auctions and buy the best of the best. Looking back at the previous seasons would tell you that the big names have not been the best. We have seen some revelations and disappointments, both foreing and domestic. The revelation of the first season was definitely Aussie southpaw Shaun Marsh who then forced his way into the Australian national cricket team. The second season revealed Manish Pandey to the rest of the world. The third season belonged totally to Jacques Kallis who had been written off totally as a test player. The IPL made stars out of many unknown foreign players who had been bought at base prices but will go into this auction with sky-high prices attached to them. RCB will definitely look to buy back Jacques Kallis and Dale Steyn as they have been performing well for quite some time now. One person i would like to see in RCB is Brian Lara, the greates left handed batsman of all time. A person as experienced as Brian Lara would not only contribute to the teams victory but would definitely boost the morale of youngsters like Virat Kohli. Speaking about Ross Taylor who has been mentioned in the topic(I noticed now!), I think Dr. Mallya should try his best to buy him back as he is one of the most destructive batsman in world cricket and is best suited for this version of the game.Royal Challengers Bangalore is in desperate need of a genuine all rounder and according to me, James Franklin would fit that slot ideally! RCB should look not to buy players who will never figure in their strategies. A right mix of Domestic players and International stars will hold the team in good stead. And yes, ROBIN SIXAPPA should be bought back without any sort of hesitation!
