Gautam Gambhir slammed the Bangalore-based franchise for releasing ten players ahead of the IPL auction. RCB's decision to release ten players has become one of the most significant talking points in the cricketing world.
Gautam Gambhir mentioned that making plenty of changes every season has been the franchise's biggest problem. They are one of the three teams who are playing right from the inaugural season and haven't won the trophy. In the 13th edition, RCB performed well in the first half of the season but lost their way towards the end. The side lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad in the eliminator match and ended up on the fourth position in the points table.
The legendary batsman also expressed his shock at the franchise's move to release the South African all-rounder Chris Morris. The Proteas player’s name came as a big surprise as he was one of the best bowlers for the franchise.
Retaining an all-rounder like Chris Morris would have been the right decision: Gautam Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir further stated that retaining a player like Chris Morris would have been the right decision. He highlighted that the franchisees do not have too many options like Morris. The former also stated that RCB should have retained Morris for one more year and worked on his fitness. They also have an option of buying the all-rounder back in the auction, probably at a cheaper price, if they want to.
Gambhir gave an example of his former KKR teammate Andre Russell. The all-rounder suffered has from many injuries in his career. Despite that, KKR has not released Russell after signing him in 2014. The Caribbean all-rounder is now one of the marquee players of their team. However, the veteran agreed with the franchise's decision to release Australian star player Aaron Finch because of his indifferent performances in the last season. Gambhir concluded by stating that Maxwell and Starc could be some of the players RCB might be focusing on.
Players retained by RCB
Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Washington Sundar, Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Siraj, Kane Richardson, Adam Zampa, Josh Philippe, Pavan Deshpande, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shahbaz Ahmed.
Players released by RCB
Aaron Finch, Parthiv Patel Moeen Ali, Chris Morris, Udana, Dale Steyn, Shivam Dube, Pawan Negi, Gurkeerat Mann, Umesh Yadav.