Royal Challengers Bengaluru have to find a way to end their IPL title drought soon next season, and the first task for them is to pick the right retention options ahead of the mega auction. RCB managed to qualify for the playoffs last season after a massive turnaround in the second half. Virat Kohli once again turned out to be the main guy for Bengaluru and finished as the Orange Cap winner with 741 runs in 15 matches, however, other RCB batters lacked consistency. Only three RCB batters managed to breach the 350-run mark last season – Kohli, Faf du Plessis (438) and Rajat Patidar (395).
The bowling unit also failed to put up collective efforts, and the lack of a quality spinner put them in trouble on several occasions.
The BCCI has not yet announced the number of players to be retained, but the franchises have already started brainstorming to make the tough calls.
Former India opener Aakash Chopra has suggested that RCB might release their skipper Faf du Plessis as the Proteas star is already 40-year-old and it would be a risky choice to retain him for three seasons.
“This is always a very interesting question. Tough question again as to who would you want to retain. Virat Kohli will be one you will retain. Can you retain Faf for three years? That is a big question. Do you want to retain Faf for three years? Not sure,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
Chopra further named Cameron Green and Mohammed Siraj as the two other options for RCB to retain alongside Kohli.
“If I get a chance I will retain Cameron Green. I will retain Mohammed Siraj because I won’t get too many Indian fast bowlers in the auction if I let him go as part of the retentions,” Chopra elaborated.
Aakash Chopra snubs Glenn Maxwell from his RCB’s retention list
Meanwhile, in case of more than three retaining options, Chopra said that RCB could go for Rajat Patidar. He strictly advised the franchise not to retain Glenn Maxwell and instead go for someone like Will Jacks, who smashed a century last season.
“Rajat Patidar maybe, if he can be retained slightly cheap, but that’s about it. Too many names aren’t there. I will release Maxi. I will say it’s enough, that you are a very good player, you play very well, but it’s okay. I want to look somewhere else. So I might leave Maxi. Will Jacks is not a bad choice. You can do that. Between Will Jacks and Glenn Maxwell, Will Jacks is much better. So that’s a possibility, an outside chance. It depends on how many people you get a chance to retain,” he replied.