Legendary South Africa batter AB de Villiers urged Royal Challengers Bengaluru to build a team that can understand their home ground — the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, listing out his four priority targets in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction. AB de Villiers, a Hall of Famer at the RCB, said the team’s priority should be bringing back Yuzvendra Chahal and opined that the leg-spinner should never have left the franchise.
AB de Villiers said RCB should look at building a strong and experienced core of bowlers who can survive the batting-friendly home ground and execute plans without feeling the pressure at one of the most high-scoring venues in the IPL.
De Villiers said he would spend the majority of the purse remaining on four players, highlighting that all four of them are experienced and understand their games better than most.
RCB retained Virat Kohli at Rs 21 crore, batter Rajat Patidar at Rs 11 crore and left-arm fast bowler Yash Dayal at Rs 5 crore while leaving out the likes of Mohammed Siraj and Glenn Maxwell.
“The good news is we still have Virat. We didn’t spend too much money with the retentions. There’s a lot in the bank still which I am very about. Rs 83 crore to spend, which is fantastic,” AB de Villiers said in his YouTube show.
RCB have the second biggest purse after Punjab Kings (Rs 110.5 crore) for the mega auction, which is scheduled to be held in Jeddah on November 24 and 25.
“I want the priority to be a world-class spinner. Let’s just get Yuzi back. Let’s stop messing around. Let’s get Yuzi back in RCB where he belongs. He should never have left. RCB can also get Ravi Ashwin, I fancy Washi Sundar as well. But with Ravi Ashwin, he has all the experience, you know what you get from him and he can also win you a game with bat in hand. Imagine if we get the twin spins from RR at RCB — these are guys who know their games in and out. I would be very happy about that. Anyway, Yuzi Chahal is my main priority,” he said.
Notably, both R Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal were released by the Rajasthan Royals, who retained their full quota of six players, leaving no room for Right To Match card at the auction.
Chahal, the first man to take 200 wickets in the IPL, was an integral part of RCB from 2014 to 2021. The leg-spinner understood the conditions in Bengaluru well and bowled with a lot of success before he surprisingly parted ways with the franchise.
KAGISO RABADA AND BHUVNESHWAR KUMAR AT RCB?
Meanwhile, AB de Villiers urged RCB to go for Kagiso Rabada and Bhuvneshwar Kumar with Mohammed Shami and Arshdeep Singh as back-up options.
“Kagiso Rabada, let’s get him at RCB. Rabada, Yuzi Chahal and then we can think about Ravi Ashwin. Get those three there. We are talking about a tournament-winning bowling attack there.
“There is my list of my four priority players — Yuzi Chahal, Kagiso Rabada, Bhuvi Kumar and R Ashwin. I almost spent my entire purse on them. We can make a plan with the rest of the money we have left in the auction. Have a full go at that.
“If you can’t get Rabada, I get hold of Mohammed Shami. If you can’t get him, get hold of Arshdeep Singh. So there’s lots of options. So there’s a lot of talent.
“Please, Andy Flower and guys. We need to get it right. We need a trophy! No, actually, we need a team that understands the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, a team that can play there, understand the plans and play according to plans,” he added.
