Former South African captain AB de Villiers suggested that Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) should try to bring Yuzvendra Chahal back to the team in the upcoming big auction. He said that Chahal belongs to RCB and he should get in there.
The star batter also mentioned that RCB should focus on signing top-quality bowlers who can perform well at their home ground, the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Bangalore made a strong comeback to reach the IPL 2024 playoffs, but they were knocked out after losing to the Rajasthan Royals in the Eliminator match. Before the auction, they decided to retain Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, and Yash Dayal.
Chahal had been one of the top performers for Royal Challengers Bangalore from 2014 to 2021 but right before the IPL IPL 2022 he was released and bought by Rajasthan Royals.
While talking to his YouTube channel, Ab de Villiers said, “The good news is we still have Virat. And we didn’t spend too much on the retentions. There’s a lot in the bank still, which I am very happy about. Let’s get Yuzi (Chahal) back at RCB where he belongs. He should have never left.”
Chahal won the Purple Cap as the top wicket-taker in his first season with Rajasthan in IPL 2022 and holds the record for the most wickets in IPL history, with 295 in 160 matches. He helped Rajasthan reach the playoffs in both IPL 2022 and IPL 2024, even making it to the final in 2022, but the team did not keep him. Besides Chahal, De Villiers also suggested that RCB consider Kagiso Rabada, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Ravichandran Ashwin.
“My four priority players are Yuzvendra Chahal, Kagiso Rabada, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ravi Ashwin. We can make a plan with the rest of the money we have left in the auction. If you can’t get Rabada, I get hold of Mohammed Shami,” De Villiers concluded.