IPL Auction 2025: AB de Villiers openly reveals RCB's 4 biggest targets in Mega Auction

Former South African cricketer AB de Villiers has revealed his priority players for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the upcoming IPL 2025 mega auction. AB de Villiers said that the team management should sign Yuzvendra Chahal along with Ravichandran Ashwin, Kagiso Rabada, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru have retained Virat Kohli as their top pick for a whopping Rs 21 crore. They also decided to retain Indian batter Rajat Patidar for Rs 11 crore. Uncapped left-arm pacer Yash Dayal, who impressed during the IPL 2024 season, was retained for Rs 5 crore before the mega auction.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru Has Purse of Rs 83 Crore for Mega Auction

RCB can use three Right to Match (RTM) cards to buy back former players during the upcoming auction. They didn't retain any overseas players, leaving stars like Faf du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell, and Cameron Green available. Mohammed Siraj is one key player RCB may target with an RTM in the auction.

RCB made minimal retentions, including only two uncapped players, and now heads into the mega auction with a healthy budget. After subtracting the salaries of their three retained players, the Bengaluru franchise has Rs 83 crore available from the total Rs 120 crore cap to build the rest of their squad.

We Don't Need A Trophy - AB de Villiers

AB de Villiers said that RCB needs a strong bowling attack for the IPL 2025 season. De Villiers suggested that Yuzvendra Chahal, Kagiso Rabada, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar should be RCB's first choices. He added that the team can also bid for Mohammed Shami and Arshdeep Singh.

"My four priority players are Yuzvendra Chahal, Kagiso Rabada, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Ravi Ashwin. We can make a plan with the rest of the money we have left in the auction. If you can't get Rabada, I get hold of Mohammed Shami. If you can't get him, get hold of Arshdeep Singh. So there's lots of options," de Villiers said on his YouTube channel.

“We don't need a trophy. Forget about the trophy. We need a team that understands the Chinnaswamy, who are street smart, who can bowl to plans, who can play to plans, who has got a very good understanding about the game of cricket,” he noted.

We Didn't Spend Too Much With The Retentions - AB de Villiers

AB de Villiers said that the team has the potential to acquire players who can make them title contenders. However, he emphasized that having Virat Kohli alone isn’t enough, and the team needs more players suited for the conditions at Chinnaswamy Stadium.

“The good news is we still have Virat. And we didn’t spend too much with the retentions. There’s a lot in the bank still, which I’m very happy about. Let’s just get Yuzi back at RCB where he belongs. He should never have left,” de Villiers said.

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