5 Picks by Royal Challengers Bangalore which went wrong

The IPL auctions have always stirred a roar even before the action could mark its presence. And every year the bank has been broken in order to rope in some fascinating performers. Talking about auctions, today we take a look at one of the most entertaining teams of the IPL, both on and off the field- the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

The Bangalore-based franchise has never shied away from going for the big guns, and in the process, bought some of the biggest names over the years. But their bids haven’t always brought them a good fortune on the field.

Presenting 5 picks by RCB which went wrong:

#1 Cameron White – USD 500,000 in 2008

When the RCB ‘think-tank’ bought the Australian all-rounder Cameron White during the 2008 auction, it was believed that his all-round ability will benefit the franchise which was then termed as a ‘Test side’ due to the lack of ‘T20-mode’ players in their squad.

An aggressive middle-order batsman and a leg-break bowler, White could only manage 114 runs from eight matches at an average of 16.28 with the bat. An economy of 24 with the ball meant that he rolled his arms over just 6 times out of the 8 games that he participated in.  The side finished seventh placed in the inaugural season, just one slot above Hyderabad Deccan Chargers.  His stats tripped off for worse in 2010, the Australian could only produce 48 runs in seven games and went wicket-less with the ball.

#2 Sean Abbott – INR 1 crore in 2015

The year 2015 started on a good note for Sean Abbott, who was named the ‘Australian young cricketer of the year’. He went on to fetch INR 1 crore in the bidding event of the IPL that year and was picked by Royal Challengers Bangalore. Delighted to take the field along with his countrymen- Mitchell Starc, Nic Maddinson; Abbott was expected to fire up the bowling pack.

Sadly, the New South Wales- born quickie went unsuccessful on both occasions, as he could not manage to scalp a single wicket in his two outings, where he conceded 57 runs at an expensive economy rate of 11.40.  He put up few late blows with the bat and maintained a strike rate of  115 plus, along with the highest score of 14. But that was certainly not enough to push RCB’s case, as they finished third in the points table.

#3 Darren Sammy – INR 2.8 crore in 2015

A mediocre season with Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2014 ( 108 runs and 3 wickets in 10 games) resulted in his release from the orange camp with a base price of 1 crore. Darren Sammy ended up getting picked by Royal Challengers Bangalore for a whopping INR 2.8 crore in the 2015 IPL auction.

The all-rounder could hardly pick up the willow for a cause as he scored mere 13 runs with the bat at a poor average of 6.50 and didn’t find any luck with the ball too. The Challengers later released him along with Dinesh Karthik, who was bought for a cracker of an amount ( 10.5 crores). The two-time T20I world cup winning skipper hasn’t had the best of times in the IPL, as his record reads 295 runs from 22 games at an average of 19.66, while with the ball, Sammy scalped 11 sticks at a fairly expensive economy of 8.89.

4. Shane Watson-  INR 9.5 crore in 2016

The ‘player of the tournament’ in the very first edition of the IPL, Shane Watson had played each of the seasons for Rajasthan Royals, before turning into gold and red. The Australian all-rounder was roped in by RCB for a massive INR 9.5 crore during the 2016 IPL auction. Watson, who had consistently scored over 200 runs in six out of the seven seasons with RR, failed to add his fruitful contribution towards the Bangalore batting card.

In 16 games, Watson scored just 179 runs at an average of  13.76. It also turned out to be the only season where the all-rounder failed to reach the fifty mark even once. With the ball, he did take 20 wickets, but that wasn’t enough to guide his side to their maiden title triumph.

#5 Tymal Mills – INR 12 crore in 2017

With Mitchell Starc missing the entire season, Tymal Mills was in RCB’s radar and they successfully picked the Englishman for a biggie. The 24-year old Yorkshire born pacer’s performance against India in the T20I series earlier in the year raised the expectations of the cricket fans but it turned out to be more of a smoke and less fire. Mills has so far picked up 72 wickets from 63 T20 games but the charisma didn’t reflect in his maiden IPL stint.

Playing for RCB, the pacer picked up just five wickets in as many games at an economy of 8.57.  He was also down with fever in the later stages of the competition and was replaced by New Zealand quick bowler Adam Milne. The Bangalore side had an awful time in the field, finishing at the bottom of the table.