IPL 2018 Auction: What team combinations to expect

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Players retained - Virat Kohli, Ab de Villiers, Sarfaraz Khan

Right to match cards available : 2

RCB has always been admired by its fans for its flamboyant and bold approach. They have usually gone with the strategy of beefing up their batting with some of the biggest hitters in world cricket; this was reflected in the player retention process too.

While not many expected them to retain Sarfaraz over Gayle, KL Rahul and Chahal, that might actually be a smart move considering the fact that they will go to the auction with a bigger purse. They might use their RTM cards to get back KL Rahul and Chahal in their squad. Both of these players have done exceedingly well for the franchise and have been in good form off late.

RCB fans might be surprised not to see Chris Gayle's name in the list but the fact that he hasn't been in the best of form in the last two seasons and infact was dropped from the playing eleven couple of times last season, it is highly improbable that RCB will go for him this time. Players like Kedar Jadhav and Samuel Badree have an outside chance but it might be difficult to beat Rahul and Chahal.

Prediction for RTM cards - KL Rahul, Chahal