IPL 2021: 5 players RCB should release ahead of the auction

The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) had an unusually good 2020 Indian Premier League (IPL). They finished fourth after seeming like top-two contenders throughout. A few things clicked, enabling their first playoffs qualification since 2016.

Apart from the evergreen Virat Kohli, Yuzvendra Chahal, and AB de Villiers, RCB found strong supporting hands in young opener Devdutt Padikkal, Sri Lankan pacer Isuru Udana, South African all-rounder Chris Morris, and the Indian pace duo of Navdeep Saini and Mohammed Siraj.

However, RCB made a few big changes through the season in response to the underperformance of certain players. Here are five players RCB should release before the next auction.

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#5 Gurkeerat Mann (IPL 2019-2020)

Mann looked a misfit in RCB's middle order as a buffer for their evergreen unit.

Gurkeerat was brought into the XI as RCB's search for an Indian middle-order companion to Virat Kohli continued. His three matches in the 2019 season showed promise, particularly his sparkling innings of 65, which egged the team to retain the all-rounder.

But 2020 was largely a horror show. Not only did he hardly score runs - just 71 in 8 games - he also lacked initiative in the middle with a strike rate below 89.

Gurkeerat's overall IPL record too is uninspiring, with an average just north of 21 from 41 innings. It seems quite likely that RCB will look for a younger, long-term replacement for Gurkeerat in the middle order..

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#4 Pawan Negi (IPL 2017-2020)

Pawan Negi seems to be slipping off RCB's radar.

Someone who had a difficult but fruitful time in the IPL in the shadow of famed finger-spinners in the Chennai Super Kings squad, Pawan Negi had one breakthrough season for RCB in 2017, which pushed the management to retain him with their final Right To Match (RTM) card in the 2018 mega-auction.

Since then, Negi featured only sporadically. And when he did, he disappointed with bat and ball. His bowling form dipped as he picked just four wickets over the last two IPL seasons he played - 9 games in total. And he scored a paltry 12 runs with the bat.

In 2020, he did not play any games for the franchise. With the rise of Washington Sundar, Negi could be discarded here on.

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#3 Dale Steyn (IPL 2019-2020)

Dale Steyn was bullied in his three games at IPL 2020.

After a two-year hiatus from the cash-rich league, Dale Steyn made a comeback as a mid-season replacement signing in 2019. He picked four wickets from two games with the pace and accuracy that he was known for. And suddenly, RCB were optimistic about their pace attack for the next season.

Unfortunately for RCB and Steyn, 2020 was a woeful experience for the pacer. In the first two games, Steyn was taken to the cleaners, particularly by KL Rahul's mauling of RCB in their second game. He returned to play a third game, but was unable to improve his showing. Just one wicket with an economy rate above 11 runs meant Steyn was quickly benched.

The South African pacer announced his unavailability for next season, which should simplify the release decision as he heads into the twilight.

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#2 Umesh Yadav (IPL 2018-2020)

Umesh Yadav returned to expensive ways for RCB after a strong 2018 season.

Umesh Yadav was one of the destroyers-in-chief duiring KKR's humiliating all-pace devouring of RCB for 49 in 2017 - the franchise's decade-defining IPL defeat. He was promptly bought by them next season. He delivered in his first season in red with 20 wickets to his name.

Barring that year, Umesh remained profligate in the runs department, as he conceded runs at 10 an over in 2019, and nearly 12 an over in his two games in 2020. Like Steyn, he too was replaced after the loss against the Kings XI Punjab. He didn't get a game after that as the young pace duo of Siraj and Saini did just enough to retain their place.

Umesh hardly plays for India in the shortest format, and while he could be an important commodity in the auction next season, RCB do not need his services in current form.

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#1 Aaron Finch (IPL 2020)

Aaron Finch couldn't quite replicate his Gujarat Lions form in subsequent seasons.

RCB have tried all sorts of options at the top to partner either Parthiv Patel, Virat Kohli or Devdutt Padikkal. And they decided to allow Aaron Finch to open for yet another franchise in the IPL - his eighth. Though the move looked promising, Finch was quickly outshined by his young opening partner, Padikkal, and was even relegated to the bench at the end of the season.

RCB apparently see value in Moeen Ali as a floating option, and might deploy him in that opening position going forward. Just 268 runs is a poor season tally for an IPL opener.

Although there's still a lot of cricket (and maybe IPL franchises) left in Finch, RCB might continue their overseas opener hunt next year.