IPL Auction 2024: How Did Royal Challengers Bangalore Fare? Analysing Hits & Misses

#IPL2024| Did #RCB have a subpar auction, or can their fans dare to dream? We analyse their auction purchases.

IPL Auction 2024: Analysing RCB's auction strategy for IPL 2024.

Image: Sportzpics/Altered by The Quint

As Royal Challengers Bangalore entered the IPL 2024 Auction, history beckoned their aggressive bidding approach. Often known for splurging big on marquee players, they did try to spend almost the entirety of their purse on Pat Cummins, before settling for Alzarri Joseph at Rs 11.50 crore.

With the platoon already having the services of Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell in their top-order, Bangalore's management did not arrive in Dubai with the intention of buying batters.

Having said that, the team had a lot of bowling shoes to fill after having released the likes of Australian speedster Josh Hazlewood, Harshal Patel and Sri Lankan spinner Wanindu Hasaranga in the off-season.

They would have had Rs 40.75 crore to spend at the auction, had they not opted to trade Cameron Green from Mumbai Indians for a hefty fee of Rs 17.50 crore, effectively allowing the five-time champions to accommodate Hardik Pandya. Subsequently, Rs 23.25 crore was all Bangalore had available on 19 December's auction.

Let us have a look at how they utilised the purse:

Players Bought: Alzarri Joseph (Rs 11.5 crore), Yash Dayal (Rs 5 crore), Lockie Ferguson (Rs 2 crore), Tom Curran (Rs 1.5 crore), Swapnil Singh (Rs 20 lakh), Saurav Chauhan (Rs 20 lakh)

Full Squad: Faf du Plessis (C), Glenn Maxwell, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik, Suyash Prabhudessai, Will Jacks, Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma, Manoj Bhandage, Vyshak Vijay Kumar, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma, Rajan Kumar, Mayank Dagar, Cameron Green, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Tom Curran, Lockie Ferguson, Swapnil Singh

RCB’s first buy of the day was Caribbean quick Alzarri Joseph, who was acquired following an unsuccessful battle with Sunrisers Hyderabad to sign Pat Cummins.

The Challengers acquired the Antiguan bowler after paying an astounding Rs 11.50 crore after a fierce bidding battle between the Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings.

The Bangalore-based franchise was also involved in a bidding battle for pacer Yash Dayal, eventually signing him for Rs 5 crore. Additionally, they signed New Zealand speedster Lockie Ferguson for Rs 2 crore and English all-rounder Tom Curran for Rs 1.5 crore, each at their base prices. Furthermore, two other Indian players, Swapnil Singh and Saurav Chauhan were also signed by RCB for Rs 20 lakh each.

The Hits

Though there might have been a few frowns about Alzarri Joseph's acquisition, Bangalore will be fairly satisfied, considering they acquired an in-form pacer for less than half the price of Mitchell Starc.

With seven wickets, Joseph had a role to play in Gujarat Titans' title triumph in IPL 2022. He has only gone from strength to strength ever since, and in his last ten matches across all competitions, the pacer picked up five three-wicket hauls.

To partner Mohammed Siraj and Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal is a potent option. He is useful with the new ball and in the middle overs too. While many might remember him as the unfortunate recipient of Rinku Singh's madness, Dayal has improved since, and has scalped seven wickets in his last three matches for Uttar Pradesh.

In Saurav Chauhan, who holds the record of the highest strike rate in an innings (338.88) after facing a minimum of 10 balls in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT), RCB have found a player with great potential. In this year's SMAT, he scored 251 runs for Gujarat at an absolutely astonishing strike rate of 184.55.

The Misses 

M Chinnaswamy Stadium's challenging pitch is often harsh on bowlers, where despite RCB's batters firing all cylinders and posting huge totals, the team has succumbed to defeats.

Accordingly, it was imperative to have a reliable bowling unit with multiple match-winners, which they have not assembled. In the likes of Lockie Ferguson and Tom Curran, Bangalore have signed players who have been expensive previously in this competition. Ferguson's economy rate was season was 12.52 runs per over, while Curran's IPL career economy rate is 10.84 runs per over.

In a surprising development, the team also chose not to sign a frontline spinner, despite releasing Wanindu Hasaranga. A lot of faith is hence being shown on Karn Sharma and Mayank Dagar, who was traded from Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Also, while RCB have a fairly competent starting XI, their bench does not inspire confidence. Hence, they will also need their first-choice players to be at their best.