IPL 2019: 5 players Royal Challengers Bangalore may look to buy in auction

Royal Challengers Bangalore decided to let go of Brendon McCullum, Corey Anderson, Quinton de Kock, Mandeep Singh, Chris Woakes and Sarfraz Khan before the IPL auction.

The Royal Challengers Bangalore have struggled to find their feet in the last two seasons of the IPL. After suffering a narrow defeat in the 2016 final, Virat Kohli’s team finished eighth and sixth in 2017 and 2018 editions respectively.

Royal Challengers Bangalore have finished eighth and sixth in last two IPL seasons.(Twitter (@RCBtweets))

RCB decided to let go of Brendon McCullum, Corey Anderson, Quinton de Kock, Mandeep Singh, Chris Woakes and Sarfraz Khan before the auction. Looking at their present combination, the Bangalore team will be looking for middle-order batsmen, preferably Indian, and an all-rounder.

Here’s a look at five players likely to be bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore in the auction this year.

Carlos Brathwaite of the Sunrisers Hyderabad during the qualifier 1 match of the Indian Premier League 2018 (IPL 2018) between the Sunrisers Hyderabad and the Chennai Super Kings. (BCCI)

Carlos Brathwaite

Remember the World T20 2016 final? West Indies needed 19 runs to win off 6 balls. Carlos Brathwaite had only one thing in mind - to go for a maximum every ball. And that’s exactly what happened. The right-handed batsman smashed Ben Stokes for four sixes to finish the match.

This is the kind of finisher the Royal Challengers Bangalore need. They have the likes of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers at the top, but they are in desperate need of a hard-hitter at the number six or seven position. The Windies T20 captain can play cameos at the toe end of the innings and also chip in with a few overs.

Manoj Tiwary

The Royal Challengers Bangalore have enough fire power in foreign players and therefore they will be looking for a few smart Indians in the batting line-up. One of the players they can bet on is Manoj Tiwary.

The right-handed batsman didn’t have a great IPL with the Kings XI Punjab last year, but he has shown that he can stay composed in crunch situations during his IPL career.

Ishank Jaggi

Ishank Jaggi, who was released by the Kolkata Knight Riders, without being given a single game last year, can be a good addition to the RCB side. If Virat Kohli doesn’t want to open, then he can try Ishank Jaggi at number three and move AB de Villiers to number four.

West Indies cricketer Shimron Hetmyer plays a shot during the second T20 cricket match between India and West Indies. (AFP)

Shimron Hetmyer

Windies’ Shimron Hetmyer could strengthen Royal Challenger Bangalore’s middle order. The 21-year-old, who made his T20 debut in 2016, has scored 498 runs in 18 matches at an average of 31.12.

The West Indian showed his class during the ODI series against India when he recorded scores of 106 and 94 in the first two matches of the series.

Daniel Christian

Since RCB have released Corey Anderson, they will be looking for a fast-bowling all-rounder. Daniel Christian, who has been let go by the Delhi Daredevils, can play the required role to perfection.

In this year, the Australian has scored 696 runs and picked up 25 wickets in 33 matches.