Gambhir reckons RCB will look for someone like Maxwell in IPL auction

Team Udayavani, Feb 17, 2021, 12:08 PM IST

Mumbai: Former India opener Gautam Gambhir reckons that Royal Challengers Bangalore will look for someone like Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell during Thursday’s IPL auction to reduce pressure on Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers in the batting department.

Maxwell, known for his big-hitting in T20 cricket, is among 292 players that are up for grabs at the IPL auction to be held on Thursday.

“Probably, they (RCB) will look at someone like Glenn Maxwell because they need to take a lot of pressure out of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers,” Gambhir said on Star Sports show ”‘Cricket Connected – Auction Special”.

He said looking at the combination Kohli would look to open batting though it was upto the management and captain himself.

“…yes, he (Kohli) is more suited to open batting. And he will open with Devdutt Paddikal and then, you have AB de Villiers.

“You want someone like an X-factor, like Maxwell, and at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, where it’s flat and small, so he can have that impact. So, probably, they (RCB) will look at someone like Maxwell,” said Gambhir.

According to the 39-year-old Gambhir, RCB will also look for some quality players.

“They would need some quality players because they have let go of some quality players – Moeen Ali and Umesh Yadav for example. There are not many fast bowlers going around in the Indian circuit at the moment.

“You’ve got Navdeep Saini who is young, you’ve got someone like Mohammed Siraj, he can go hot and cold in T20 cricket, so probably releasing Umesh Yadav was the big surprise,” added Gambhir.

Gambhir felt that Kings XI Punjab, who will be now called Punjab Kings, can go for the likes of Umesh Yadav, Kyle Jamieson and Chris Morris. He said they will have to strengthen their Indian bowling.

“…they (Kings XI Punjab) might have to probably strengthen their Indian bowling because apart from Mohd Shami there is no one who could compliment him.

“Probably Umesh Yadav will be a very good pick – Mohd Shami and Umesh Yadav bowling with a new ball; so, they can actually rotate their fast bowlers. If you have got two Indian bowlers bowling with the new ball, it can actually open one gap for you from an overseas point of view.

“They can have someone like Chris Morris who can bowl well in the death as well, and at the same time Kyle Jamieson – so they can pick both of them,” he added.

Former India speedster Ashish Nehra believes that Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan could be the most expensive player at the auction. Another former India player Aakash Chopra picked Maxwell to be the most expensive buy in this mini auction.