AB de Villiers, former South Africa cricketer, has named four bowlers that Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) should target in the upcoming IPL 2025 mega auction. The IPL 2025 mega auction will be held on November 24 and 25 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
RCB will enter the mega auction with a purse of Rs 83 crore after retaining Virat Kohli for Rs 21 crore, Rajat Patidar for Rs 11 crore, and Yash Dayal for Rs 5 crore. This means RCB will have three RTM cards at their disposal in the IPL 2025 mega auction.
Ab de Villiers, who was associated with Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL from 2011 to 2021, wants the Bengaluru-based franchise to sign Indian spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravichandran Ashwin, as well as pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar and South African quick Kagiso Rabada, in the IPL 2025 mega auction.
Chahal and Ashwin were with the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL from 2022 to 2024, however, they were not retained by the team. Similarly, Bhuvneshwar and Rabada, who played for SRH and PBKS in the IPL 2024, were both released.
De Villiers wants RCB to do everything they can in the IPL 2025 mega auction to get these four bowlers owing to their history of poor bowling attacks in previous seasons.
“I want the priority to be on a world-class spinner. Let’s get Yuzi Chahal back at RCB, where he belongs. Imagine we get the twin spins from RR at RCB. Guys who really know their games inside out. Kagiso Rabada, let’s get him at RCB. Please, Kagiso Rabada, and Yuzi Chahal, then we can think about Ravi Ashwin. You get those three there,” De Villiers stated on his YouTube channel.
“Okay, so there’s my four priority players, and I’ll almost spend the entire purse on them. Yuzi Chahal, KG Rabada, Bhuvi Kumar, and Ravi Ashwin. I mean, I don’t have to say anything further. We can make a plan with the rest of the money we have left in the auction. Have a full go at that," he added.
AB de Villiers stressed the fact that RCB needs bowlers who understand their home venue of M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Bowling has always been RCB’s Achilles heel, despite them possessing some of the best batters in IPL over the years.
“We need a team that understands the Chinnaswamy, who can play there, who is street smart, who can bowl to plans, who can play to plans, who’s got a very good understanding about the game of cricket. And Yuzi Chahal, Ravi Ashwin, Bhuvi Kumar, and Kagiso Rabada. It doesn’t get better than that, okay? They understand their games. They will find a way to make the Chinnaswamy work for RCB,” De Villiers signed off.
RCB retained only two uncapped players and now enters the big auction with a healthy budget. And they would want to use their INR 83 cr purse in the most effective way in the IPL 2025 mega auction.
