Inside RCB's Rs 11.50 cr gamble on Alzarri Joseph

Alzarri Joseph was one of our top three targets, says RCB Director of Cricket Mo Bobat

Royal Challengers Bangalore Director of Cricket Mo Bobat justified the franchise's decision to go after Alzarri Joseph for a big sum in the IPL auction here on Tuesday, saying the West Indian pacer was among their top three targets as he is one of the best exponents in death overs.

Starting at a base price of Rs 1 crore, Joseph was bought by RCB for Rs 11.50 crores after an intense bidding war, also involving Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Capitals and Lucknow Super Giants.

"We're delighted to have Alzarri (Joseph). From our perspective, he was our top three targets. From an overseas pace bowling perspective, you're always trying to navigate through the auction order, which makes things slightly tricky. We made a good judgment call," Bobat said.

"I think, to bring forward our interest in Alzarri and to have a good go at him because he's a player that we really like now with Alzarri, he bowls at high pace, he's got a high release point, so he gets bounce. We know bounce is important at the Chinnaswamy (Stadium). He's also got fantastic death skills. You look at his record and he's stacks up against anyone at the death."

Bobat said Joseph's experience of playing in different T20 leagues around the world and for the national team on a regular basis will come in handy in the upcoming IPL.

"He's also someone that's playing regular international cricket all around the world and franchise all around the world. So he's someone that can adapt to conditions and surfaces. And he's someone also that the captain knows really well. So (skipper) Faf (du Plessis) and him have a really good relationship and they've got a real trusted dynamic between them," he said.

Joseph holds the record for the best bowling figures in the IPL, with figures of 3.4-1-12-6 while playing for Mumbai Indians (MI) against Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2019.

Another big buy for RCB was uncapped fast bowler Yash Dayal, who went for Rs 5 crore after being registered at a base price of Rs 20 lakh.

"So for us, it ticks a lot of boxes with Yash Dayal, obviously a slightly different pick in that sense. We like the left arm angle, we like the fact that he moves the ball up front. We want to make sure we've got the right battery of bowlers domestically that can supplement the likes of Alzarri," Bobat said.

"Obviously, we've got Cameron Green as well. So we think we've got a really nice balanced attack with real variety. And we want to make sure that we have got variety whenever we step out on the field from a pace bowling perspective.

"So we've got enough bounce, we've got enough pace, we've got (Mohammed) Siraj, who's a champion swing bowler, up front, and we've got a left-arm angle. So it's us putting together our arsenal to take on the opposition," the Englishman added.