IPL Auction 2019: 3 possible replacements for Chris Woakes at RCB

The IPL might be a yearly affair, but the anticipation that surrounds an auction is like none other. This time, the IPL is being held early, because the tournament itself starts in March.

The transfer window that helped the teams do some movement from one side to another. This year, we saw that the Kings XI Punjab traded Marcus Stoinis for Mandeep Singh. This gives the Bangalore based franchise depth in their all-round department.

Here are the players retained by RCB: Virat Kohli (C), AB De Villiers Mohammad Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Kulwant Khejroliya Parthiv Patel Pawan Negi, Umesh Yadav, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Colin de Grandhomme, Moeen Ali, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Tim Southee

He played just 5 games and picking up 8 wickets and scoring 17 runs. Since he won't be available for the IPL after May 1 due to the World Cup, it was necessary that RCB chose a replacement for him.

Here are some of the players that could replace Woakes:

#3 Moises Henriques

England v Australia- ICC Champions Trophy

The Royal Challengers Bangalore seem to always have been troubled by the issue of a middle-order batsman, which can be solved by bringing Moises Henriques. He's had the experience of playing several IPL games and brings in balance to the side with his all-round abilities.

While he may not be as quick and nagging as Chris Woakes, he is a more established batsman who can bring stability in the middle lest something goes wrong. His seam bowling can tighten things up in the middle, and he can play the strokes if required to.

He averaged more than 46 with the bat in IPL 2017, and while he was unsold last season, his experience of 57 IPL games could very well come in handy for the side.

#2 Jalaj Saxena

Saxena has been a rock in the middle-order for Madhya Pradesh in the domestic circuit and knows his way well around the wickets in India, due to his hefty experience. A canny off-spinner, he has been putting up the runs in the domestic circuit for years now.

While Saxena is different from Woakes when it comes to their skill-set, he adds real depth to their batting, which is known to narrow up a bit in the middle-order. The top-order has the likes of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers and it is the middle-order that requires help.

Also, since Moeen Ali won't be available for the entire IPL, RCB could do with an Indian all-rounder who would not be too much of a pressure on their overseas slots. The Bangalore franchise has only two overseas slots left and can well utilize one of them for the vacant wicket-keeper slot.

#1 Nicholas Pooran

Some might say that it is a surprising choice, but given that the RCB side has only one designated wicket-keeper in Parthiv Patel, it won't be a bad idea to choose a keeper in their side. The West Indian Nicholas Pooran recently struck a half-century in a T20I against India and could be on the selection radar.

The youngest player ever to play in the CPL, he can provide depth to the middle-order apart from donning the gloves behind the wicket.

Since RCB already have Colin de Grandhomme and Nathan Coulter-Nile to play the medium-pace all-rounder role, they might as well beef up their wicket-keeping column, given that Quinton de Kock has been released.

He has played 78 T20s so far but is known for his hard-hitting. At the age of 23, he is one of the upcoming names in West Indies cricket who can make an impact.