Top 4 Retention Picks For Royal Challengers Bangalore In The IPL 2025 Mega Auction

Yet again so close but so far, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) once again failed to cross the finishing line in another season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). After winning as many as six games on the trot during the league stage of the Indian Premier League 2024 season to qualify for the playoffs, the Faf du Plessis-led RCB team ended up conceding a heartbreaking 4-wicket loss in the Eliminator at the hands of the Rajasthan Royals. However, it is time for the three-time IPL finalists to make some tough decisions before IPL 2025 mega auction. The IPL Governing Council and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) are yet to confirm the number of retentions ahead of the IPL 2025 auction. 

Top 5 Retention Picks for Royal Challengers Bangalore ahead of IPL 2025 Mega Auction

1. Virat Kohli

Former RCB captain Virat Kohli will definitely be the first retention in the next IPL auction due to his superlative contribution with the bat and in the leadership role as witnessed over the years. He is currently the leading run-getter in the T20 competition having scored the most runs in IPL 2024 with a total of 741 runs from as many as 15 matches. The right-handed RCB opening batsman had a wonderful average of more than 61 and a fine strike-rate of over 155. While talking about Virat Kohli IPL 2024 salary, being the first retention in 2022, he receives an amount worth INR 15 Crores. Time and again, Virat has confirmed that he does not wishes to move ahead of the Royal Challengers Bangalore and will continue playing for them during his entire cricketing career. 

2. Mohammed Siraj

Despite having a below-par performance in the Indian Premier League 2024 season, right-arm speedster Mohammed Siraj is very much likely to be retained by the Royal Challengers Bangalore for the IPL 2025 auction. He had a very poor performance with the ball especially in the first half of the T20 competition where he conceded too many runs in the powerplay. Siraj managed to take as many as 15 wickets from 14 games at an expensive economy rate of more than 9. Following impressive performances in the 2023 ODI World Cup and once being touted as the best bowler in the world alongside Jasprit Bumrah, he was supposed to be leader of the RCB bowling attack, but his poor performance hurt their chances to a great extent. The Indian fast bowler will surely be hoping to forget this season and look forward to improve his game preparing well for the T20 World Cup 2024. 

3. Rajat Patidar

Incidentally, Rajat Patidar's stocks took a big rise after that sensational century in the IPL 2022 Eliminator against Lucknow Super Giants, but then he got injured in the during the previous edition of the cash-rich T20 league. Following not the best of debuts for India in the longest format of the game during the Test series against England at home, the right-hander had a slow start in the IPL 2024 season for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru. However, he then slowly found his form and started playing attacking cricket especially against the spinners. Patidar has smashed a total of 395 runs this year in 15 matches at a brilliant strike-rate of close to 180. He ended up notching a total of five half-centuries, most of which came in the second half of the tournament. Therefore, it will be a really good choice to invest in an Indian youngster, making his as one of the retention picks ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction. 

4. Yash Dayal

It is quite suprising that out of all the Royal Challengers Bangalore players present in the 2024 squad, none of the foreign cricketers came up with standout performances in the ongoing IPL 2024 season. The Australian duo of Cameron Green and Glenn Maxwell were not at their best both with the bat and ball. RCB captain Faf du Plessis scored a crucial match-winning half-century against Chennai Super Kings in a must-win league stage encounter, but he failed to contribute much in the starting stages of the competition. Therefore, left-arm pacer Yash Dayal might get the big opportunity of being retained by the Royal Challengers Bengaluru for the Indian Premier League 2025 season. During the IPL 2024 auction, RCB bought Dayal at an amount worth INR 5 Crore. He bowled a sensational penultimate against MS Dhoni during the knockout match against Chennai Super Kings. Yash picked up a total of 15 wickets in 14 matches, but he bowled quite well in the pressure situations.