5 players RCB should look to retain in 2018 IPL auctions

Ahead of the 11th edition of the Indian Premier League, the BCCI has released the guidelines for the auction and the much-awaited retention policy for the participating teams. Season 11 is going to be a bigger affair as the two suspended franchises, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR), are all set to make a comeback. The auction, a two-day affair, will be held on January 27 and 28 in Bangalore.

According to the retention policy, each franchise can retain a maximum of five players using a combination of pre-auction retention and Right To Match (RTM) cards. They have the option to retain three players through pre-auction retention which will leave them with two RTM cards. Alternatively, they can retain two players through pre-auction retention, leaving them with three RTM cards.

IPL 2017 was a season to forget for the Royal Challengers Bangalore as nothing went their way. Virat Kohli missed the initial part of the tournament due to an injury which left the team unsettled. Also, opener KL Rahul's absence owing to a shoulder injury left a hole in the batting lineup. Rahul had played an important role in the 2016 edition of the IPL, which was RCB's most successful season so far.

Leaving behind the failures of season 10, the team will look forward to performing better in the upcoming season.

Here are five players that Royal Challengers Bangalore are likely to retain:

#1 Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli

Retention Mode - Pre-auction retention

Virat Kohli, the captain of the Indian cricket team, has represented the Bangalore based franchise every single season since the inception of the tournament in 2008. Kohli has a terrific track record playing for them, having scored 4418 runs at an average of 37.44.

He is also second on the list of the highest run scorers in the IPL, only behind Suresh Raina who has scored 4540 runs. Virat is just 122 runs short of becoming the highest run scorer in the IPL. He will look forward to achieving this feat in the next edition of the IPL.

The prized possession of RCB has captained the team in the past five seasons after Daniel Vettori's retirement. His record as a captain has been phenomenal, having won 35 of the 70 matches between 2013 and 2017.

IPL 2016 was a memorable season for him as he scored 973 runs in just 16 innings at an average of 81.08, becoming the first batsman to score four centuries in a single season of the tournament in the process.

In the 2011 edition of the IPL, RCB had retained only Kohli from their team of 2010, sending all the other players into the auction pool. This shows the importance of the Indian skipper to the team.

#2 AB de Villiers

AB de Villiers

Retention Mode - Pre-auction retention

A hard-hitting batsman, a part-time wicket-keeper, and one of the best fielders in the world, there is nothing AB de Villiers can't do on a cricket field. The experience he carries and the strength he brings to the team are just incredible. He has been one of the three pillars of the RCB team in the past few seasons, the others being Virat Kohli and Chris Gayle.

He has been part of the RCB team since the 2011 edition of the tournament when they bought him for a whopping $1.1 million. de Villiers has scored 3473 runs in 129 matches at an average of 38.16. His strike rate of 148.16 is the second highest among the batsmen who have scored more than 3000 runs in the IPL.

Only Chris Gayle has a higher strike rate of 151.20 in the 101 matches that he has played in the IPL. Though IPL 2017 was a season to forget for him - he managed to score just 216 runs from his nine outings - de Villiers will still be one of the most dependable players for RCB. The hard-hitting South African batsman is another prized possession of the RCB team and they have to retain him if they are to do well this season.

#3 Yuzvendra Chahal

Yuzvendra Chahal

Retention Mode - Pre-auction retention

The attacking leg-spinner has been one of the key bowlers in the RCB team in the recent past. His wicket-taking ability is one of his biggest strengths and this makes him Virat Kohli's go-to bowler in critical situations.

RCB bought Chahal at his base price of Rs. 10 lakhs in the 2014 edition and he grabbed this opportunity very well, bagging 70 wickets in just four seasons. It was his IPL performances that brought him onto the radar of the Indian selectors who spotted his talent and rewarded him with an international call-up. So far, he has been quite successful in international cricket, scalping 22 wickets in 13 T20Is at an economy of 7.31.

Playing for RCB, he finished as the 3rd highest wicket-taker in the 2015 edition and 2nd highest wicket-taker the following season, falling just two wickets short of claiming the Purple Cap.

#4 KL Rahul

KL Rahul

Retention Mode - Right to Match

KL Rahul is one of the most elegant batsmen among the present generation of openers. He was bought by RCB in the 2016 edition of the IPL where he showed his brilliance, scoring 397 runs in 14 innings at an average of 44.11. His strike rate of 146.49 was one of the biggest positives for RCB in the 2016 edition.

He has been a regular face now in the Indian Test and T20 teams. Rahul missed the 2017 edition of the IPL owing to a shoulder injury, leaving a big hole in the RCB line up right at the top. Even Australian great Ricky Ponting considered Rahul's absence at the top one of the reasons behind RCB's failure.

His recent form in the T20I series against Sri Lanka makes all the more valuable for RCB.

#5 Chris Gayle

Chris Gayle

Retention Mode - Right to Match

Chris Gayle does not need any introduction when it comes to T20s. The hard-hitting Caribbean batsman has been the pillar of the RCB team ever since he was bought in the middle of the 2011 season as a replacement for the injured Dirk Nannes. On his day, Gayle has the ability to win matches single-handedly.

His record in T20s is incredible. In 320 T20 matches, he has scored 11056 runs at an average of 40.94 and a strike rate of 149.02. He is the only player to have hit 20 centuries in T20s. He has also struck the most number of sixes in T20s - 819. His score of 175 still remains the highest individual T20 score.

In the recently-concluded Bangladesh Premier League, Gayle finished as the highest run scorer, having amassed 485 runs in 11 innings which included a century in the final. His recent form makes him a stronger prospect for retention.