Royal Challengers Bengaluru adopted a measured approach in the mega auction as they attempted to build a balanced squad around talisman Virat Kohli.
They spent heavily on big-hitting batters in Phil Salt, Liam Livingstone and Jitesh Sharma to take advantage of the small boundaries at the M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru.
Australian Tim David came in cheap at Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million), but the lack of a quality left-hander in the batting order could be a major drawback.
RCB also invested heavily in their pace attack, with Australian Josh Hazlewood emerging as their costliest purchase at Rs 12.50 crore (Rs 125 million), while Bhuvneshwar Kumar came back into the spotlight with a hefty Rs 10.75 crore (Rs 107.5 million) bid.
Yash Dayal, who was retained, along with Lungi Ngidi and Nuwan Thushara further bolster their formidable pace attack. However, their spin department doesn't look that menacing with Krunal Pandya, Swapnil Singh and Suyash Sharma as their three primary spinners.
With no other senior Indian player in the squad, Kohli could reclaim the RCB captaincy for the upcoming season.
IPL 2025: RCB Squad:
Total players: 22
Overseas Players: 8
ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE (RCB) | ||
Player | Country | Price |
BATTERS | ||
Virat Kohli | India | Retained (Rs 21 crore) |
Rajat Patidar | India | Retained (Rs 11 crore) |
Tim David | Australia | Rs 3 crore |
Devdutt Padikkal | India | Rs 2 crore |
Swastik Chikara | India | Rs 30 lakh |
WICKET-KEEPERS | ||
Phil Salt | England | Rs 11.50 crore |
Jitesh Sharma | India | Rs 11 crore |
ALL ROUNDERS | ||
Liam Livingstone | England | Rs 8.75 crore |
Krunal Pandya | India | Rs 5.75 crore |
Romario Shepherd | West Indies | Rs 1.50 crore |
Jacob Bethell | England | Rs 2.60 crore |
Manoj Bhandage | India | Rs 30 lakh |
Mohit Rathee | India | Rs 30 lakh |
PACERS | ||
Yash Dayal | India | Retained (Rs 5 crore) |
Josh Hazlewood | Australia | Rs 12.50 crore |
Bhuvneshwar Kumar | India | Rs 10.75 crore |
Rasikh Dar | India | Rs 6 crore |
Nuwan Thushara | Sri Lanka | Rs 1.60 crore |
Lungi Ngidi | South Africa | Rs 1 crore |
Abhinandan Singh | India | Rs 30 lakh |
SPINNERS | ||
Swapnil Singh | India | (RTM) Rs 50 lakh |
Suyash Sharma | India | Rs 2.6 crore |
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