Cricket expert Aakash Chopra questions RCB's IPL 2025 auction strategy, highlighting the absence of high-profile Indian batters to support Virat Kohli in the lineup.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) had a fairly good round at the IPL 2025 auction ,bringing in key players to add to their strong retentions of Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, and Yash Dayal.
However, a section of fans seem unhappy about RCB’s shopping at the IPL 2025 auction and that despite having a substantial purse, they chose to avoid bidding aggressively for marquee Indian batters.
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This decision has sparked debates, especially since high-profile Indian players like Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul were available this time. RCB were strongly expected to go big for Rahul, but abcked away at 10.5 crores for the Indian star.
Team India’s former Test opener and cricket commentator Aakash Chopra added fuel to the conversation by openly questioning RCB’s auction strategy on his social media channel.
He pointed out that while it’s often difficult to secure top Indian batters at auctions, this year offered a rare opportunity with players like Pant, Rahul, Iyer, and Kishan available. However, RCB neither made a concerted effort to sign them nor used their resources effectively to address this gap.
RCB did bid for Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul but backed out early. Pant was let go after just ₹11 crore, while Rahul was pursued up to ₹10.5 crore before RCB pulled out, allowing him to be sold for ₹14 crores.
Considering their financial flexibility, these bids seemed cautious at best. Players like Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan, who many believe could have bolstered the middle order, weren’t even considered. They eventually added Devdutt Padikkal late to their roster in the accelerated round, but the left-hander does not quite qualify as an elite Indian T20 player.
Chopra criticized RCB’s reluctance, noting their long-standing issue of relying heavily on Virat Kohli without a strong Indian counterpart in the batting lineup. He suggested that investing in one marquee batter, even at a high price, could have paid dividends. However, there was also the undertone in his post that RCB purposely avoid marquee India batters to avoid the spotlight going away from Kohli, who is a fan favourite.
“One thing #RCB does not want to change ever. No high-profile Indian batter in the team except Virat. Often you can’t get any in the auction and that’s understandable…but this time they had 4 options to choose from. Pant, Shreyas Iyer, KLR and Ishan. And had the money to buy 1. But they didn’t,” Chopra’s tweet read.
While their reluctance to bid for Indian stars drew criticism, RCB did make notable signings during the two-day auction held in Jeddah. Josh Hazlewood (₹12.5 crore), Phil Salt (₹11.5 crore), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (₹10.75 crore), Jitesh Sharma (₹11 crore), and Liam Livingstone (₹8.75 crore) were among their high-profile acquisitions.
With a slightly different approach to usual, RCB have actually compiled a pretty good squad at the IPL auction this time around. There are also rumours of Kohli returning as captain and the fact that they didn’t sign up marquee India players suggest that the King might indeed be returning to take the captaincy.
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RCB Squad for IPL 2025: Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Yash Dayal, Liam Livingstone, Phil Salt, Jitesh Sharma, Josh Hazlewood, Rasikh Salam Dar, Suyash Sharma, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Swapnil Singh, Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Nuwan Thushara, Manoj Bhandage, Jacob Bethell, Devdutt Padikkal, Swastik Chikara, Mohit Rathee, Lungi Ngidi, Abhinandan Singh.
