AB de Villiers Is Not The Future For RCB, So They Will Retain Glenn Maxwell in IPL 2022: Gautam Gambhir

Former Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Gautam Gambhir said that South Africa batsman AB de Villiers is not the future for Royal Challengers Bangalore.

IPL 2022 auctions will be huge as the majority of the players will go under the auctions as each franchise will be able to retain a maximum of three players.

Australian all-rounder Maxwell was phenomenal with the bat in his first season for RCB as he ended up the season as their highest-run scorer with 513 runs from 14 innings at the strike rate of 144.10.

On the other hand RCB’s talismanic batter AB de Villiers struggled to score in the UAE leg of IPL 2021 and against KKR he could only manage 11 runs before he was clean bowled by Sunil Narine in the Eliminator match.

AB de Villiers is not the future for RCB: Gautam Gambhir

AB de Villiers has been a lynchpin of the RCB batting line-up over the years and is the only other player apart from skipper Virat Kohli to play for the franchise for more than a decade. Since his retirement from international cricket, he doesn’t play enough matches in a year and that makes him lack sharpness with the bat.

“Yes, because I think they will retain Glenn Maxwell since he is the future, and AB de Villiers is not,” Gambhir told ESPNCricinfo when asked about retaining the Australian all-rounder. 

RCB can retain either Yuzvendra Chahal or Harshal Patel: Gautam Gambhir

Haryana bowler Harshal Patel had his best IPL season as he returned with 32 wickets, the joint-highest by a bowler in any season, levelling the record with West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo (in 2013).

After being dropped from India’s squad for the T20 World Cup, leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal regained his form and picked 14 wickets in eight matches in the UAE leg of IPL 2021 and gave the team breakthroughs at crucial junctures.

Gambhir said that he would pick either one of the Haryana players to get retained for RCB in IPL 2022.

 “Yes, I would just want to add that between Harshal Patel and Chahal, one can be picked. So, it’s up to them whether they want to pick either Chahal or Harshal,” Gambhir said. 

RCB were knocked out by Kolkata Knight Riders by four wickets in the Eliminator game on Monday in Sharjah.

The loss against KKR ended RCB’s quest for their elusive IPL title and also it was their last game under the leadership of Virat Kohli, who had earlier decided to step down from the captaincy role at the end of the season.

Also Read: IPL 2021: Brian Lara Says He Would Retain Glenn Maxwell Ahead Of AB de Villiers For RCB In IPL 2022