Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) had made a huge trade ahead of the IPL 2024 auction as they bought Cameron Green from Mumbai Indians. RCB had unloaded almost of all their bowling stars ahead of the auction, retaining major names like Mohammed Siraj and Reece Topley.
They had let go of Harshal Patel, Wanindu Hasaranga, and Josh Hazlewood to the surprise of many. RCB are notorious for having a poor bowling unit and they released all of their main bowlers including Patel, who had won the Purple Cap in IPL 2021. While they managed to get a host of fast bowlers in the IPL 2024 auction; one purchase is still being debated upon.
Notably, Alzarri Joseph was bought by RCB for INR 11.50 Cr for their IPL 2024 campaign. While many feel it was a very good purchase, though overpriced. Others feel that RCB had many other options to choose from in the auction and today we see 3 such options RCB should’ve considered.
Let’s look at the three players RCB should have picked instead of Alzarri Joseph:
1. Dilshan Madushanka
Dilshan Madushanka Bowling. (Photo Source: Gettyimages/Hannah Peters)
Sri Lankan pacer Dilshan Madushanka had an excellent outing for Sri Lanka in the recently concluded ODI World Cup 2023. He jumped into the limelight after taking a five-wicket haul against India in the tournament, despite his team’s abysmal performance in the encounter. Madushanka was one of the key players to watch out for in the IPL 2024 auction.
He would’ve been a very good option for RCB team, especially on the home pitch in Bengaluru. Madushanka is a very good left-arm pacer with variations suited for the T20 format. However, RCB already had one left-armer in Reece Topley and figured adding another one to the mix, was not suited to their plans.
2. Kartik Tyagi
Karthik Tyagi RR. (Photo Source: Twitter)
By releasing Harshal Patel, RCB also let go of their most successful death overs bowler. Harshal had mastered the art of bowling in the last 8 overs and even on the batting-friendly surface of Bengaluru and small Chinnaswamy ground, he managed to do well for 3 seasons for RCB.
However, in the auction, RCB missed the chance to buy the hottest young pacer India has in Kartik Tyagi. Tyagi specializes in death overs bowling and he had shown great tendency to bowl yorkers for Rajasthan Royals and Uttar Pradesh as well. Plus, he regularly touched speeds of 150 kph in recent white-ball domestic tournaments, something that would’ve given RCB the edge.
3. Gerald Coetzee
Gerald Coetzee SA20. (Photo Source: Twitter)
An out-and-out pacer with a big heart, Gerald Coetzee would’ve added a lot of value to the RCB franchise. He would’ve made a great partner to similarly spirited Mohammed Siraj and the duo could’ve run riot with the new ball and the old in Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Given that MI bought Coetzee for under INR 6 Cr, RCB had that money, but didn’t go for Coetzee hard in the auction. Apart from his bowling, Coetzee could have provided RCB with some batting cushion at the death as well.