'They will just retain Virat Kohli, release everyone else' - RP Singh foresees RCB's retention strategy ahead of IPL 2025 Auction

With the Indian Premier League (IPL) all set to host its 2025 season, former India pacer RP Singh recently predicted about the Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) retention strategy. Singh believes that RCB might retain only star batter, Virat Kohli and will release all other players ahead of the auction.

The IPL Governing Council recently announced player regulations for the next three seasons, allowing franchises to retain up to six players, with a maximum of five capped ones, through retention or the Right to Match (RTM) option. Singh opened up on RCB's potential approach ahead of the mega auction

"I feel they don't have any problem. They will just retain Virat Kohli, release everyone else, and use the RTM. If we see the value taking Rajat Patidar as an example, will we get him for more or less than 11 crores at the auction?" he told Colors Cineplex.

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I feel you will get Rajat Patidar for fewer: RP Singh

Taking Rajat Patidar as an example, Singh questioned whether his auction price would exceed 11 crores, believing that RCB could potentially reacquire him at a lower cost. He applied similar logic to pacer Mohammed Siraj, doubting that his auction price would reach 14 crores.

Singh stressed the utility of the RTM card in such scenarios, allowing the Bengaluru-based franchise to match the highest bid and retain players if necessary.

"I feel you will get Rajat Patidar for fewer. So you get him back at the auction. Even if he reaches close to 11 crores, you have the RTM which you can use there. Siraj, performance-wise, you will have to again judge whether you will get him close to 11 crores. I don't think Siraj will reach close to 14 crores. They will always have the option that if he reaches there, you can use the RTM," he added

The former pacer also gave his take on RCB's uncapped players like Anuj Rawat and Rajan Kumar, believing that their auction prices would likely not surpass four crores. The former Indian pacer strongly asked to build the team around Kohli, acknowledging his significant contributions to the franchise. 

"If you talk about uncapped players, you took the name of Anuj Rawat and there is a left-arm pacer in Rajan Kumar, a good fast bowler who didn't play, but all of them won't reach close to four crores. So they should go with a new mindset. They need Virat, he has contributed a lot to the franchise, and Virat is the most important player as well. So they should think about building the team around him, or with a new thought. I don't see anyone else apart from Virat Kohli having a value of 18 or 14 crores in this team," Singh concluded.