IPL 2024: Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) Best retained squad

Royal Challengers Bangalore to retain 16 players as we look at the confirmed retained squad and players list for RCB for IPL 2024. 

The Royal Challengers Bangalore complete yet another year in the hope of winning the trophy. But Alas! As usual, what they could only win is the love from their fans. The ‘Ee Sala Cup Namde’ must be the most phrase in the entire of Karnataka and the RCB fans across the world, and it shall remain the same for yet another year.  

During the Mega Auction in 2022, the RCB assembled a brilliant team. It did show in their performance as they finished third in the overall standings. But with hope and a slightly better team on paper in 2023, RCB ended the season in disappointment having even failed to qualify for the Playoffs.

If we dig into the reason for the poor show of RCB this year, it should ultimately boil down to the individual ownership of players with their performance. The ones that stood out for RCB in 2022 and before let them down this year as if felt the team wasn’t assembled keeping Bengaluru’s sporty pitch in mind. 

With a disappointing season once again, the RCB camp must already be thinking about which players to retain and whom to leave. So, with the data that we have, let’s dwell on this possibility, and find out the best predicted retained squad and players list for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for IPL 2024. Again, this is just a tentative list, which may get revised as the IPL 2024 Auction is near. 

Batters & WKs

Faf du Plessis, Rajat Patidar, Suyash Prabhudessai, Virat Kohli, Anuj Rawat & Finn Allen

RCB had a total of 5 batters and 3 wicket-keepers in their IPL 2023 campaign. Out of the eight players, the one player that disappointed the most is Dinesh Karthik. The star of RCB’s 2022 campaign had a miserable run in 2023 with close to 140 runs from 14 innings. With DK already at the flag end of his career, it looks difficult for RCB to invest in him. It was also evident during the second half as Anuj was preferred above DK for Keeping and batting. 

With DK gone, we should expect RCB to retain their captain, Faf du Plessis, Virat Kohli, finisher Suyash Prabhudessai, and wicket-keeper Finn Allen, who didn’t get an opportunity to play. Other than these four, RCB should back WK Anuj Rawat for one more year. Whereas Rajat Patidar should be back for IPL 2024 after recovering from the injury. 

All-rounders

Glenn Maxwell, Mahipal Lomror, Michael Bracewell, Shahbaz Ahmed & Wanindu Hasaranga

Coming to the all-rounders, we should expect RCB retain a total of 5 players. Glenn Maxwell has once again had a successful year for RCB, so he should be the first name on the list. Lomror has looked well but in patches. RCB may want to give him another chance. Michael Bracewell did well in his limited opportunities with the team. Whereas Hasaranga was injured for a good time for RCB, but should find a place in the side for IPL 2024. 

However, the one name that shall be debated for retention is Shahbaz Ahmed. Shahbaz has had a poor IPL 2023, and couldn’t contribute with the bat or ball. It won’t be a surprise if RCB release him. But even as Shahbaz has had poor returns, the talent is still there. With Shahbaz’s salary isn’t much, we should see RCB persisting with him for one more year. 

Bowlers

Akash Deep, Harshal Patel, Josh Hazlewood, Mohammed Siraj & Vyshak Vijaykumar

Talking about the bowlers, RCB should mostly release a lot of players from this list. RCB didn’t utilize a lot of bowlers or bowling all-rounders like Sonu Yadav, Manoj Bhandage, Himanshu Singh, Avinash Singh, and Rajan Kumar. It remains unlikely that RCB retain them unless they do extraordinarily well in the domestic season.

The ones that RCB should retain include the pace trio of Mohammed Siraj, Josh Hazlewood, and Harshal Patel. Siraj was outstanding for RCB in 2023, so should lead the retention list. Harshal may have had a below-par IPL, but doesn’t look to get released with such performance. Hazlewood may have had injury issues this year, but should bounce back again next year. 

Other than these three, RCB should retain the pace duo of Vyshak Vijaykumar and Akash Deep. Vyshak impressed a lot with his pace and death bowling skills this year. Hence, he should be a confirmed retainer. Whereas Akash Deep may not be the first name on the list, he had a good 2022, and didn’t play much in 2023. So, RCB should give him another chance.

Overall, RCB should retain a total of 6 Overseas and 10 Indian players. This includes a total of 4 batters, 2 wicket-keepers, 5 all-rounders, and 5 pacers. With this retention policy, and if the pool amount is increased to 100 Cr, RCB may have around 21.3 Cr going into the Auction. With that price, they can target a good 2-3 players to fill the gaps along with sufficient backups.  

IPL 2024: Predicted Retained Squad List for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)

Batters: Faf du Plessis, Rajat Patidar, Suyash Prabhudessai & Virat Kohli

WKs: Anuj Rawat & Finn Allen

All-rounders: Glenn Maxwell, Mahipal Lomror, Michael Bracewell, Shahbaz Ahmed & Wanindu Hasaranga

Bowlers: Akash Deep, Harshal Patel, Josh Hazlewood, Mohammed Siraj & Vyshak Vijaykumar

So, that’s about the best retained squad and players list for Royal Challengers Bangalore for IPL 2024. Out of the total of 25 players that RCB had in 2023, RCB should retain 16 of them. The ones to be released include Will Jacks, David Willey, Reece Topley, Dinesh Karthik, Karn Sharma, Siddharth Kaul, Rajan Kumar, Sonu Yadav, Avinash Bhandage, Himanshu Singh, and Wayne Parnell. 

Thanks for reading! What’s your retained Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) squad for IPL 2024? Please email your thoughts to business@cricalytics.com

ALSO READ: IPL 2023: The Flop 11 of the Season – Dinesh Karthik Captain

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Adesh Kothari

Adesh Kothari is the founder of AK4Tsay1 Cricalytics with over 20 years of experience following Cricket.

Cricket to him is like what Football is to Lionel Messi, Singing is to Lata Mangeshkar, Dancing is to Michael Jackson, and Acting is to Clint Eastwood.

Besides his effervescent love for Cricket, Adesh is an MBA by qualification.