IPL: 5 Unexpected player releases which might take place on November 15

2. RCB retaining Akshdeep Nath

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have often been guilty of splurging big money on certain players and they’ve not performed. Akshdeep Nath is one of the examples from last year. RCB went out and spent INR 3.6 crores to avail the services of the Uttar Pradesh cricketer.

However, Nath couldn’t do justice to the price tag. He played eight games and was shifted up and down the order. Wherever he was tried, he couldn’t click. In five innings, he could muster a mere 61 runs at an average of 12.20. These runs came at a low strike-rate of 107.02 as well.

Hence, there will be question marks over Nath’s place in the squad. However, RCB have always been questioned for their retentions. They retained Sarfraz Khan in 2018 over the likes of KL Rahul and Yuzvendra Chahal and used RTM for Pawan Negi. Thus, you can expect the unexpected from RCB and they could well retain Nath despite his price tag and non-performance.