West Indian Romario Shepherd: Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) Director of Cricket, Mo Bobat, shared the strategy behind the team’s calculated and bold approach in the IPL 2025 Auction in Jeddah on Monday. He emphasised that RCB focused on building a balanced and competitive squad and stayed clear of the unpredictable nature of the auction.
Securing explosive batters like Phil Salt (Rs 11.5 cr), Liam Livingstone (Rs 8.75 cr), and Tim David (Rs 3 cr) headlined RCB's approach, bringing aggression to the top and middle order and aligning with the ‘bold brand of cricket.’ RCB also created a tantalising bowling unit by bringing back Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood (Rs 12.5 cr), who is well-versed in the Chinnaswamy track, and partnering him with the Indian King of Swing Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Rs 10.75 cr).
“Let’s be honest - RCB has never won the IPL. In the past, we’ve focused on spending big on a small number of players. This year, we approached it differently, aiming to assemble a balanced team rather than disproportionately spending on top-order batters as we may have done before. Jitesh Sharma is a high-quality Indian player who adds real power down the order- someone who might be able to replicate some of DK's finishing,” explained Mo Bobat.
