The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have always boasted some of the biggest names in world cricket in their batting department.
However, because of their weaker bowling department and some ordinary captaincy from whoever had led the franchise, Royal Challengers Bangalore have failed to clinch a single IPL trophy. They have come close thrice, but lost all three finals.
They have had some really talented Indian batsmen but chose to release them at some point and perhaps regretted not retaining them.
Here are 3 Indian batsmen whom RCB didn’t retain and might regret now:
KL Rahul
KL Rahul is one of the most talented and consistent Indian batsmen in the IPL. Not retaining Rahul ahead of the 2018 mega-auction was one of the most shocking decisions Royal Challengers Bangalore has ever taken. Challengers retained Sarfaraz Khan over Rahul in 2018.
Rahul was inching toward attaining his peak and they didn’t show enough faith in him. After leaving Challengers Bangalore, His career shot up significantly. Talking about the IPL, from 2018 to 2022, Rahul amassed over 590 runs in 5 consecutive seasons.
Robin Uthappa
Robin Uthappa was with Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2009 and 2010 season and left a good impression. He was also a crucial part of the 2007 T20 World Cup winning team. However, They only retained Kohli in 2011 and chose to let go of Uthappa, who was at his best. Uthappa joined KKR in 2014 and had a bumper seasons, bagging the Purple Cap and winning the IPL trophy.
Toward the end of his career, Uthappa found a second wind and made contributions to CSK’s 2021 title-winning campaign.
Devdutt Padikkal
When he burst onto the IPL scene in 2020, Padikkal was seen as a big, future star of Royal Challengers Bangalore. However, he played only 2 seasons for RCB – in both, he scored over 400 runs – and yet he was released ahead of the 2022 mega-auction. Padikkal joined Rajasthan Royals in 2022. And though at RR he didn’t get to bat in his favored opening position, Padikkal played a crucial role in the middle-order and helped the Royals reach the final.
In Padikkal, Bangalore Based Franchise could have had a solid opening batter for a long time. But alas, their decision-makers might now rue releasing Padikkal or not buying him back in the auction.
