IPL 2023 Auction: Three Wicketkeepers Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) Can Target

Royal Challengers Bangalore is one of the many franchises that need wicketkeepers in the IPL 2023 auction. The franchise has a remaining purse of 8.75 crores in which to buy 11 players including a couple of overseas slots. The auction will be held in Kochi on December 23.

All 10 franchises will be part of the IPL 2023 auction and try to induct some powerful players into their squads. For IPL 2023, all the franchises can retain a maximum of 15 players in their squads. All the franchises need to have at least 18 or a maximum of 25 players in their squads for the next IPL season.

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A total of 991 players have registered themselves for IPL 2023 auction. However, there are only 87 maximum slots left to be picked during the auction. During the retentions, the 10 teams retained 163 players in their squad.

Speaking about RCB, Dinesh Karthik is the only specialist keeper in the squad. He scored 330 runs in 16 games for the side last season striking over 180  and remaining unbeaten 10 times in the season. Aging 37, IPL 2023 might be the last season of his career. He recently played for India in the recently concluded T20 World Cup. Many believe that it is his last international assignment for the Men in Blue. The franchise needs to look for options in order to look beyond the Tamil Nadu cricketer.

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In this article, we take a look at three wicketkeepers RCB can target in the upcoming IPL 2023 auction. They have a number of national and international keepers to choose from and we pick three of them.

IPL 2023 Auction: Three Wicketkeepers Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) Can Target

Narayan Jagadeesan

Jagadeesan after his recent exploits in the Vijay Hazare Trophy will be on the wishlist of all the franchises. The Tamil Nadu keeper-batsman was released by Chennai Super Kings during the retention window. His exploits followed just after he was released.

He broke several batting records after scoring 277 against Andhra Pradesh in one of the games. He ended the season with 830 runs from 8 matches averaging 138.33 and striking at 125.38. He scored five hundred in the campaign. In need of an Indian keeper, RCB should go hard to get him.

Also Read: IPL 2023 Auction: “I Will Bid For Him Only After He Confirms” – Ravichandran Ashwin On Cameron Green’s IPL Plans

Shai Hope

Shai Hope is a technically correct T20I batter. He is the leading run-getter for West Indies in ODIs. He had his breakthrough year in 2019 when the keeper-batter scored 1345 runs in 28 ODIs for the Windies with 8 fifties and four hundred.

Since then, he has scored 282 runs in six ODIs in 2020, 310 in five matches in 2021, and 709 runs in 21 ODIs so far. He does not have great T20I numbers scoring just 304 runs in 19 T20Is to date. He has not played in the IPL to date and that is where RCB can take a chance with him. A safe keeper behind the stumps, Hope can turn out to be a surprise for RCB.

Kusal Perera

Perera is another hard-hitting wicketkeeper and an opening batsman as well. Thus he is a three-in-one cricketer and can solve multiple problems for Royal Challengers Bangalore. He is one among the 24 players to have registered themselves for a base price of 1 crore. He has played only one season in the IPL which was for Rajasthan Royals in 2012.

However, years later now he is a much more experienced T20 cricketer having played a lot in the format and across leagues. He has a strike rate of 131.31 across 59 T20I internationals for Sri Lanka. With the gloves, he is safe enough.

Also Read: IPL 2023 Auction: 3 Players Released By Punjab Kings That Royal Challengers Bangalore Can Target

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