IPL 2018: 5 players that Royal Challengers Bangalore are missing this season

The Royal Challengers Bangalore's IPL journey over the course of 10 years has been a pretty interesting one. Despite having a star-studded squad every year, the Men in Red continue to hunt for their maiden IPL title.

The Bangalore franchise has made it to the playoffs 5 times (2009, 2010, 2011, 2015 and 2016) and to the final twice (2009 and 2011) but has never gone one step further to clinch the title.

One reason for this prolonged title hunt has been the loss of some key players. The RCB had a handful of talented youngsters as well as overseas stars that were worth investing in. However, after results did not go their way, the franchise decided to swing the axe and let go of some of these big names.

Here are five players that the RCB will rue letting go.

#5 Chris Gayle

Chris Gayle has the record of the highest individual score in the IPL.

The 'Universe Boss' was a part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore squad from 2011 to 2017 editions of the IPL. For the RCB, Chris Gayle has been the biggest entertainer and a proven match-winner. He has scored 3000+ runs at a strike rate of more than 150.

Over the years, the ' Gaylestorm' has hit the Chinnaswamy Stadium and has blown away many oppositions and has mercilessly destroyed them. Surprisingly, the T20 cricket king was not retained by RCB ahead of the 2018 IPL auction.

It was a pretty poor move to leave out world's best T20 batsman and this is something they will regret now. Despite a couple of off-seasons in the IPL, he is still doing pretty good in T20 leagues across the world. Only time will tell whether the RCB have made the right choice by letting Gayle go, but at the moment it does not seem so.

#4 Manish Pandey

Pandey hit 114 off 73 balls against the Deccan Chargers in 2009.

Manish Pandey has been a crucial batsman for several IPL franchises in his career, the Royal Challengers Bangalore being one of them. Pandey first played for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2009.

Being the first Indian batsman to score a century in the IPL, Pandey was the brightest prospect that the Bangalore franchise had in their early years. Surprisingly, he was left out by RCB after 2010 and he went on to flourish for other franchises.

Today, Pandey is a regular in India's ODI and T20 setup and is one of the best Indian batsmen in the IPL. In recent years, his performances for the Kolkata Knight Riders have been nothing less than astonishing, something that RCB missed out on.

#3 Robin Uthappa

Robin Uthappa played for the RCB in 2009 and 2010.

The Karnataka batsman was the linchpin of the Royal Challengers Bangalore batting line-up during the early years of the IPL. Uthappa gave an additional wicket-keeping option to the team as well.

Robin Uthappa, throughout his stint with the RCB, played some crucial knocks for the men in red, bailing them out of trouble on many occasions and being the pick of the batsmen. He was the backbone of their middle-order.

After 2010, RCB decided not to retain Robin Uthappa and let him go. They will rue this move badly as Uthappa went on to have a great run in the IPL in the coming years, even winning the orange cap once. Today, Uthappa continues to be a crucial batsman in the KKR line-up.

#2 Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the purple cap winner in 2016 and 2017.

The two-time purple cap winner spent his early years in the IPL with the men in red. Bhuvneshwar Kumar has not played an IPL game for the RCB but made a lone appearance in the CLT20.

After RCB let him go, he joined Pune Warriors and Sunrisers Hyderabad, subsequently where he established himself on the bigger stage. Kumar has proved to be one of the most successful fast bowlers in the IPL, winning the purple cap on two consecutive occasions for the SRH in 2016 and 2017.

At Sunrisers Hyderabad, Kumar has been the captain's go-to bowler. If only the Royal Challengers Bangalore had shown a little patience and kept him in the side, they would have reaped huge rewards for their patience. They will rue not having the services of Bhuvneshwar in the prime years of his career.

#1 KL Rahul

KL Rahul was the star of the 2016 IPL season.

Losing KL Rahul will perhaps be RCB's biggest regret in recent times. A dynamic batsman who can strike big, Rahul was a big positive in RCB's 2016 successful IPL campaign.

His ability to don the gloves in absence of a regular keeper added even more value. Rahul, being one of the only 3 Indians to score hundreds in all formats is an indispensable asset to any IPL side.

In 2018, the Royal Challengers Bangalore did not retain Rahul and opted to not use the RTM on him after his price went a little out of their budget. The Bangalore franchise will rue not having him in their side now.

Rahul has already shown the glimpses of his prowess for the Kings XI Punjab scoring the fastest IPL fifty, thereby making the RCB owners bang their head against the wall in regret.