IPL 2020 Auction: 3 all-rounders RCB must look to bring back into the team

It was surprising to see a star-studded Royal Challengers Bangalore line-up failing to register a victory in the first six matches of 2019 IPL and eventually finishing at the bottom of the eight-team standings with just five wins. It will be interesting to see how the team invests at the upcoming IPL 2020 auction to form a strong squad for next season.

Several star T20 all-rounders like Shane Watson, Colin de Grandhomme and Corey Anderson have failed to make much of an impact during their stints at RCB thereby prompting the three-time runners-up to find an ideal T20 player who could serve them efficiently with both the bat and ball.

The search will continue at Kolkata on December 19 as well as they are yet to fix their combination having released as many as 12 players from their 2019 squad. To overcome their heavy-reliance on captain Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers in batting, RCB need all-rounders who could complement as well as step-up in case these two exceptional batsmen meet-up with rare failures apart from bowling useful spells. On that note, let us look at three all-rounders RCB must look to bring back into the team for IPL 2020.

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# 3 Moises Henriques

Moises Henriques

Moises Henriques who has represented six different franchises in the IPL so far, (Kolkata Knight Riders, Delhi Daredevils, Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kings XI Punjab) and was a part of the RCB squad during 2013 IPL. Having been released by Kings XI Punjab ahead of 2020 IPL auction, the Australian all-rounder who didn't play a single game last season for the Mohali-based franchise will be up for grabs. With RCB lacking a proven pace-bowling all-rounder, they need to bid for the current Sydney Sixers skipper who with his big-hitting abilities and pace variations might be a perfect fit for Kohli's men.

The 32-year-old was one of the key members of Sunrisers Hyderbad's title-winning squad in 2016 IPL with his all-round performance scoring 182 runs apart from picking up 12 wickets. He followed it up with a decent performance with the bat for the Orange army in the following season amassing 277 runs in 12 matches at a strike-rate of 136.45 that includes three half-centuries. Unfortunately, he found no buyers at 2018 IPL auction before being bought by Kings XI Punjab for ₹1 crore last season.

Henriques who represents New South Wales in the domestic circuit has been in a sensational form for his side in the 2019-20 Sheffield Shield and in the recently concluded Marsh One-Day Cup. Given his current form, T20 experience and all-round prowess (3508 runs and 108 wickets in T20s) Henriques' comeback to RCB would certainly bolster their squad.

#2 Marcus Stoinis

Marcus Stoinis

Royal Challengers Bangalore obtained Stonis last season for ₹6.2 crores after trading Indian batsman Mandeep Singh to Kings XI Punjab surprisingly released the Australian all-rounder ahead of the IPL 2020 auction. His astronomical price tag might have contributed for his release but the 30-year-old would certainly be on the radar of several franchises at the upcoming auction given his dominance in the limited-overs cricket.

With 1725 runs and 61 wickets, he has displayed his all-round credentials in the shorter format of the game as much as he has done it in first-class (3179 runs and 64 wickets) and List A (2422 runs and 71 wickets) matches. Stonis who is a proven match-winner in the Big Bash League and for the Australian team deserves a return to the Chinnaswamy Stadium given his big-hitting abilities and useful right-arm medium spells.

#1 Chris Woakes

Chris Woakes with Yuzvendra Chahal

Chris Woakes who began his IPL career with Kolkata Knight Riders in 2017 was one of the chief-tormentors (3/6) with the ball when the Knight Riders bowled out RCB for just 49 runs at Eden Gardens. This prompted Virat Kohli's men to go for Woakes at 2018 IPL auction where they bought him for a whopping ₹7.4 crore. The 30-year-old did not have a memorable outing with RCB managing just 17 runs and eight wickets in the five matches he played throughout season eleven and was eventually released ahead of 2019 auction where he went unsold with a base price of ₹2 crores.

A splendid display at the victorious 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup campaign at home saw Woakes finishing with 16 wickets. In the final against New Zealand at Lord's, the English all-rounder was the star performer with the ball finishing with the figures of 3/37. A useful batsman low down the order, Woakes has 5753 first-class and 1927 List A runs to his name and his T20 strike-rate of 136.10 affirms his big-hitting abilities. Given his World Cup exploits, we might expect RCB to re-bid for their former player.