IPL: 10 players RCB regret letting go

Royal Challengers Bangalore are one of the current teams yet to win the IPL title. Though they have reached the finals on three occasions, they managed to finish only as runners-up three times. RCB has some great players in the squad and yet the title eluded them all this while.

In 2019 IPL, RCB got off to a worst possible start. They have lost all their six games this season and pushed to the bottom of the points table with a poor net run rate. They have to win all of their remaining eight games to have any chance of qualifying for the playoffs and it looks highly unlikely at the moment.

One of the key reasons behind RCB’s downfall is their inability to retain players and failure in signing good players at the auction.

On that note, let’s take a look at the 10 players RCB regret letting go.

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#10 Sarfaraz Khan

Image Courtesy: BCCI/IPLT20

The 21-year-old was a Royal Challengers Bangalore player from 2015 to 2018. Though he showed a lot of promise, he failed to get going with RCB but to his argument, he was only a teenager. He was released by RCB for IPL 2019 and Kings XI Punjab bought him at the auction. In five games so far this season, Sarfaraz has scored 165 runs at an average of 55. With RCB middle order struggling for runs, Sarfaraz would have been an ideal solution.

#9 Mayank Agarwal

Image Courtesy: BCCI/IPLT20

The local boy and one of Karnataka’s most consistent first-class performers, Mayank Agarwal was let go by RCB in 2013. Though he hasn’t got going in his IPL career, he is showing a lot of promise with Kings XI Punjab at the moment. A player with exceptional abilities, Mayank Agarwal was let go by RCB a little too soon. Staying with his home town franchise have worked wonders to his T20 career. Agarwal has scored 129 runs in five games this season.

#8 Billy Stanlake

Billy Stanlake

The Australian paceman started his IPL career RCB in 2017. He played two games in IPL 2017 and was released later by RCB. He was signed by Sunrisers Hyderabad for IPL 2018. Billy Stanlake played four games for SRH but left the tournament injured. One of the fastest bowlers in the world right now, Stanlake terrorized batsmen with his pace and bounce. With RCB bowlers leaking a lot of runs this season, Stanlake would have been a great option for Virat Kohli.

#7 Shane Watson

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This man needs no introduction. One of IPL’s most consistent overseas players, Watson started his IPL career with a bang when he led Rajasthan Royals to title in the inaugural edition of the tournament. He was signed by RCB in 2016 but was let go after the 2017 campaign. Though Watson struggled with RCB, he always had the quality to succeed at the highest level. To add insult to injury, Watson played a key role in CSK’s title success last season with 555 runs in 15 games.

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#6 Dinesh Karthik

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One of the underrated players in Indian cricket, Dinesh Karthik is one of the very few players who played for six different franchises. Karthik started with Delhi and moved to various other franchises before landing in RCB for the 2015 campaign. He was let go after a poor campaign but Karthik found his feet with now-defunct Gujarat Lions, scoring 335 and 361 runs. He then had a great season at Kolkata in 2018 with almost 500 runs. A player of Karthik’s caliber is what RCB need at the moment.

#5 Robin Uthappa

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A gifted stroke maker, Uthappa failed to make it big for India in the international arena. Uthappa was a part of RCB squad during the 2009 and 2010 seasons. Despite a good 2010 IPL, he was released from the team. He then went on to become one of the most prolific run scorers in IPL. Since 2012, Uthappa has scored at least 350 runs in each of his IPL campaigns. He also played a crucial role in KKR’s title-winning 2014 season. Uthappa could have been the missing piece in Kohli’s puzzle.

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#4 Kedar Jadhav

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Kedar Jadhav was a part of the Royal Challengers squad during the 2016 and 2017 seasons. Though he wasn’t bad in 2017 IPL, he was released by RCB. Chennai Super Kings bought him in the 2018 auction but Jadhav missed a majority of the season because of an injury. Jadhav has also done well for India in the past couple of years and almost certain to make the 2019 World Cup squad. Bangalore should have held on to Indian international, which would have definitely benefited them.

#3 KL Rahul

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It still remains a big question why RCB let Rahul go after IPL 2017. Though he missed IPL 2017 because of a shoulder injury, he was one of their best players in IPL 2016 with 397 runs at an average of 44.11 and a strike rate of 146.49. Despite his great abilities, he was allowed to join KXIP for IPL 2018. Rahul was a revelation last season as he led the KXIP run charts with over 659 runs at an average of 54.91. With RCB’s batting lineup collapsing more often these days, Rahul would have provided them the much-needed stability.

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#2 Chris Gayle

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When most of us thought Chris Gayle has gone past his prime, he surprised everyone with some great performances for West Indies and Kings XI Punjab in the past few weeks. Gayle had a great tenure with RCB where he was phenomenal with the bat. However, he was let go by RCB before IPL 2018 and they might regret their decision now. Gayle is going from strength to strength and could have strengthened RCB’s batting line up.

#1 Bhuvneshwar Kumar

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One of India’s finest swing bowlers, if not the best, at the moment, Bhuvneshwar Kumar is a prolific wicket-taker in IPL cricket. He started his career with Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2009 but was let go after 2010 IPL. He joined Pune Warriors India and then joined Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2014. He went on to win two consecutive purple caps with SRH in 2016 and 2017, and also won the IPL title in 2016. With all Indian seamers performing poor for RCB, Kumar could have given them the much-needed tooth in the bowling attack.

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