5 players who might be dropped by RCB in IPL 2019

Royal Challengers Bangalore crashed out of IPL 2018 after their defeat against Rajasthan Royals on the penultimate day of the league stage. RCB struggled to get going in the tournament as they failed to build any kind of winning momentum.

The bowling looked flat while the batting seemed to be over-dependent on a couple of individuals.

Despite being one of the strongest sides on paper, RCB could not reach the playoffs. Poor performances of some key players were one of the major reasons for the team's downfall.

Some of these players were bought for huge money at the auction but they failed to deliver. We look at five such players whose performances were disappointing and might be dropped from RCB's squad next year.

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#5 Sarfaraz Khan

Sarfaraz Khan trying to stop the ball from getting past him

RCB showed tremendous faith in Sarfaraz Khan by retaining him before the auction. The pocket-sized dynamo has shown great promise with the bat in the past, but had a disappointing season.

In the seven matches he played this year, he scored a paltry 51 runs with a low average of 10.20. The 20-year-old was given a lot of chances to redeem himself but to no success.

Apart from his batting, his fielding was always under the scanner and skipper Virat Kohli was often seen yelling at Sarfaraz on the field. With such poor returns, it is highly unlikely that Sarfaraz will be retained by the franchise next year.

#4 Pawan Negi

Negi failed with both bat and ball

Royal Challengers Bangalore used it's RTM card to have Pawan Negi back in their squad at the IPL auction 2018, and they had a reason to do so. In IPL 2017, the all-rounder was brilliant with the ball as he picked up 16 wickets in 12 matches and bowled at an impressive economy of 6.12 runs per over.

Negi also played a couple of useful cameos at the back of the innings. But this year he hasn't been that effective. In the two matches that Negi has played this season, he has given away runs at an economy of 12.25.

He has failed with the bat too, scoring 3 runs in 2 innings. Negi might struggle to get back in the RCB team next year.

#3 Brendon McCullum

Have we seen the last of McCullum in IPL?

Expectations were high from Brendon McCullum going into IPL 2018. The swashbuckling opener has destroyed bowling attacks with his destructive batting over the years, however, things didn't go well for McCullum this season.

In the six matches that the former New Zealand skipper played this season, he scored 127 runs at an average of 21.16, which is quite ordinary by his own high standards.

Following his poor run of form, he was eventually dropped from the side and warmed the bench in the latter half of the tournament.

#2 Washington Sundar

Sundar lost his place in the Playing XI after a string of poor performances

Washington Sundar came into IPL 2018 with a man-of-the-series performance for the national side in the Nidahas trophy. Sundar came into the reckoning after his exploits in IPL 2017.

And Sundar was believed to solve RCB's bowling woes. Unfortunately, he didn't live up to the high expectations. The off-spinner struggled right from the beginning and ended up with just 4 wickets in 7 matches.

One aspect that would have disappointed the RCB team management the most was his high economy of 9.60 runs per over. After been given numerous chances to prove himself, Sundar was left out of the playing XI and it is unlikely that he will play for RCB in IPL 2019.

#1 Chris Woakes

Woakes was inconsistent with his line and length

RCB turned a lot of heads by buying Chris Woakes for a jaw-dropping sum of Rs. 7.40 crores at the auction. The fact that Englishman picked up 17 wickets playing for Kolkata Knight Riders last season, would have convinced RCB to put in big bucks for Chris Woakes.

However, Chris Woakes' performance hasn't been up to the mark this year. Even though he took 8 wickets in the 5 matches he played for RCB, he was very expensive, giving away runs at an economy of 10.36 runs per over.

He failed with the bat too, scoring just 17 runs. Woakes wasn't able to justify the big bucks spent on him and he might feature in the RCB squad next time around.