indian premier league - ipl

RCB Among Multiple Franchises Eyeing Uncapped 23-Year-Old South Africa Finisher For IPL 2026 Auction

Chandra Moulee Das

Last updated: July 15, 2025

2 min read

Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will be hoping to retain their trophy in the next Indian Premier League (IPL 2026) season after winning their maiden title last season. Also, with the IPL 2026 auction just a few months away, speculations of possible signings and trades have started taking the centre stage.

According to few reports doing the rounds, it is understood that RCB are eyeing a 23-year-old uncapped Proteas youngster. Wicketkeeper-batter Keagan Lion-Cachet is one of the promising talents in South African cricket currently and have the makings to be a future star. He dazzled in the SA20 2025 season earlier this year with his aggressive batting and sharp keeping skills and can now be on the radar for teams in the IPL 2026 auction.

Keagan Lion-Cachet in SA20 2025

The talented youngster gave a testament to his prowess during the SA20 2025 despite not having any competitive cricket experience under his belt and making a direct jump from university to franchise cricket. Keagan Lion-Cachet did not look out of place at all as he took on bowlers at that level with a fearless approach.

In fact on his SA20 debut, he impressed with his composure, playing a deft knock of 28 including four boundaries after the the Pretoria Capitals top order collapsed and were four down for 28.

In the five matches he played for Capitals, Keagan managed 86 runs at an average nearing the 30s. While his number don’t exactly reflect his true potential, he looked full of promise turning out in front of a packed crowd without showing much nerves.

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Which teams apart from RCB can target Keagan Lion-Cachet?

While RCB can target the youngster as a backup option with the idea to groom him in the long-run, there are a few other franchises who are in dire need of a wicketkeeper-batter or a finisher.

Franchises like Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Delhi Capitals (DC) could also be in the pursuit of Keagan Lion-Cachet if he enters the auction. KKR are expected to release both their wicketkeeper in Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Quinton de Kock and could be targeting a young talent to fill in the void. On the other hand, DC struggled with their batting lineup throughout last season and could look to bolster the power-hitting department with a young talent.

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