The preparations of all the think tanks will be on the stage of getting finalised as the d-day is just a few hours away as far as the auction is concerned ahead of the 2024 edition of the IPL. As always, the eyes will be on three big teams Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). While CSK and MI only need to plug a few gaps, RCB let go of their entire bowling attack apart from a couple of names and hence will be in the market for pace bowlers - Indian as well as overseas.
With a new coaching staff, RCB will be all geared up to set a squad that could finally end their title drought and bowlers will be on the team management's radar as they released the likes of David Willey, Harshal Patel and Josh Hazlewood ahead of the auction. Director of Cricket Mo Bobat too was clear about his team's plans as he admitted that the bowling department is the one area that they have identified which needs some addition of personnel and mainly since Mohammed Siraj will need some support.
“Mohammad Siraj is a core part of what we do so supporting Siraj with some more bowling options including overseas bowling options is going to be a real priority for us moving forward," Bobat was quoted as saying in a franchise statement. "Then we have got a core of local spinners, which I think is quite strong. Some of them got some opportunities over the last year or two and they might play more leading roles moving forward."
Bobat said that they will be looking to add a couple of tearaway pacers in the squad given that pace is one thing that cannot be taught and the ones who can generate it naturally can become X-factors. So RCB's main target will be bowlers with pace and who also know how to control it.
"Naturally cricket tends to get attracted to and gravitate towards things like the control and the lateral movement of fast bowlers but what we should be doing is identifying players that have the pace and the balance. You can teach someone to develop craft and lateral movement but it is not that easy to teach pace or manufacture balance because you are talking about their release height and their physicality,” Bobat added.
RCB have six slots left including three overseas with Rs 23.25 Crore at their disposal.
