‘I don’t know how…’: Ex-Indian cricketer criticises RCB for not buying captain candidate KL Rahul

The auction table of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) did not look much busy during the first two marquee set on Day 1 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) mega auctions held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It was being expected that KL Rahul will make a return in the franchise, but it did not happen and Rahul was taken in by Delhi Capitals (DC) for Rs. 14 crore.

even though the franchise entered the auction with the second-highest purse remaining, they did not go all guns-blazing for players such as Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer and Mitchell Starc. The franchise only went for Liam Livingstone, which has left former Indian cricketer Robin Uthappa quite surprised.

“Three are my favourite sides are KKR, CSK and RCB. I have played for all three sides. I am telling you as a local Bengaluru boy, I am confused. I genuinely do not understand how you have the second-biggest purse and how you do not go for the big players in the marquee sets,” Uthappa said.

“You did not make more than one pick. When you are trying to rebuild your side, when you are looking for a new direction, you have got the fans backing you year after year, they put their emotions, they are thronging the stadium year after year. When you go through social media, it seems they are let down. I, as a fan of RCB and former player, I feel like they missed a trick. You just wonder where they are heading,” he added.

“They haven’t gone after Mitchell Starc as they are looking for a gun bowler in those conditions. They should have gone after KL Rahul, they haven’t gone after even Rishabh Pant or Shreyas Iyer. You got that purse. You could have gone for Rs 23 crore for one of those players. They didn’t go that far,” he concluded.

RCB’s picks in Auction Day 1
On the first day of the mega auctions, RCB bought a total of six players- three overseas, one capped, and two uncapped players. The most expensive player for the franchise was Josh Hazlewood at Rs. 12.5 crore. England wicketkeeper-batter Phil Salt was second-highest at Rs. 11.5 crore.

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