RCB yet to decide captain, Virat Kohli texted us IPL auction feedback: Team Director

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Royal Challengers Bengaluru Director of Cricket Mo Babat said the former finalists will take their time to decide on their next captain. Speaking after making some smart buys on Day 2 of the Indian Premier League mega auction, Babat talked up the involvement of Virat Kohli in their plans for the IPL 2025 season.

After refraining from going for big names, including Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer, RCB did not use the Right To Match card for their former captain Faf du Plessis, who went to Delhi Capitals at his base price of Rs 2 crore.

Mo Babat, speaking to the official broadcasters on Monday, said Virat Kohli sent them feedback for Day 1 of their auction via a text message after his memorable hundred in the Perth Test against Australia.

IPL 2025 Mega Auction, Day 2 Updates

“Virat sent a few text messages on his feedback after Day 1 of the auction. He has lots of insight about players. He is always part of planning and all that. We haven’t made any decisions on captaincy. We will give it a thought after the auction and we know what our squad looks like,” Mo Babat said.

RCB splashed money on veteran India pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar. They entered a bidding war with Mumbai Indians and Lucknow Super Giants and bought him for Rs 10.75 crore. Bhuvneshwar will partner Josh Hazlewood, who was bought for Rs 12.50 crore.

RCB also went big for Krunal Pandya, buying the Baroda captain for Rs 5.75 crore after having bought Phil Salt and Jitesh Sharma for Rs 11.50 crore and Rs 11 crore on Sunday in Jeddah.

Mo Babat explained the reasons behind them spending big on Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

“Look, Bhuvi was a big target for us. We spent time yesterday, trying to work out what we would want today. We knew Bhuvi would come late in the auction. A few teams had an eye for him. It’s great to get him. Having him and Josh Hazlewood is good for us at the top,” he said.

“We spent quite a lot of time thinking about how we want to play our cricket. We planned a lot. To be honest, some of the numbers that came yesterday were massive. It’s important to hold your nerves and not get sucked into it,” he added.

RCB’S TOP BUYS IN IPL MEGA AUCTION

  • Josh Hazlewood: Base Price Rs 2,00,00,000, Winning Bid Rs 12,50,00,000, Capped.
  • Phil Salt: Base Price Rs 2,00,00,000, Winning Bid Rs 11,50,00,000, Capped.
  • Jitesh Sharma: Base Price Rs 1,00,00,000, Winning Bid Rs 11,00,00,000, Capped.
  • Bhuvneshwar Kumar: Base Price Rs 2,00,00,000, Winning Bid Rs 10,75,00,000, Capped.
  • Liam Livingstone: Base Price Rs 2,00,00,000, Winning Bid Rs 8,75,00,000, Capped.
  • Rasikh Dar: Base Price Rs 30,00,000, Winning Bid Rs 6,00,00,000, Uncapped.
  • Krunal Pandya: Base Price Rs 2,00,00,000, Winning Bid Rs 5,75,00,000, Capped.
  • Suyash Sharma: Base Price Rs 30,00,000, Winning Bid Rs 2,60,00,000, Uncapped.

Published By:

Akshay Ramesh

Published On:

Nov 25, 2024



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