IPL 2019: 3 Players Who Can Replace Quinton De Kock in RCB

The Royal Challengers Bangalore finished a disappointing sixth place last season and failed to make the playoffs. They were busy at the player auction and rebuilt their team and hoping to address their issue with the bowling unit.

They signed Mccullum, De Kock, Chris Woakes, Corey Anderson, Moeen Ali, Tim Southee and young spinner Washington Sundar. Neither of the big name signings performed to their potential and left Kohli and ABD to do the bulk of the scoring.

Kohli who finished with 530 runs and ABD who finished with 480 runs was RCB's best performers with the bat by a huge margin and Umesh Yadav was impressive taking 20 wickets.

The opening batsmen failed to perform and put a lot of pressure on Kohli to score. The death bowling was yet another concern that has continued to plague them across seasons.

Quinton De Kock was bought by the Mumbai Indians ahead of the Player Auction 2019 and this leaves a big question, who will be their wicket keeping batsman?

Here are 3 players who can be De Kock's replacement for the season.

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#3 Heinrich Klaasen (Rajasthan Royals)

Australia v South Africa - T20

With Quinton De Kock leaving the side to join the Mumbai Indians, it leaves the side with only one wicket keeping option in Parthiv Patel. Parthiv was good for one match last season but failed to show consistency. Signing Heinrich Klaasen from the Royals will do a world of good to RCB.

Klaasen has a strike rate of 158 and can open the batting or slot in at number 5 ahead of Stoinis or Grandhomme. He's a very safe keeper and a prolific run scorer. He has not had much of cricket in the last few months but has scored 643 runs in the last 1 and half years and has finished off many games and is a big hitter.

RCB lacked a player who could score quick runs after Kohli or ABD's dismissal with Grandhomme scoring on a few occasions and Klaasen can certainly be a good replacement for his South African teammate and score big runs for RCB this season.

#2 Luke Ronchi

Ronchi after scoring 94 off 39 balls against the Karachi Kings

Luke Ronchi was a key part of the Islamabad United's title-winning campaign as the Kiwi led them to the title with great batting performances. A wicketkeeping batsman with big-hitting abilities, he is extremely consistent and won the Player of the Tournament in the Pakistan Super League.

He has already proven his talent in playing in subcontinental pitches and is a good player of both pace and spin bowling. He can open the batting and play in the middle order and can be flexible for the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

A T20 specialist, he scored 435 runs in 11 innings for the Islamabad United at an average of 43.50 and an extremely impressive strike rate of 182, his performances won him 5 Man of the Match awards and he will most definitely be on RCB's radar this season.

#1 Jonny Bairstow

Jonny Bairstow

Jonny Bairstow was who was unsold in the last IPL auction but he later admitted that he wasn't expecting him to be bought by a franchise. His performances for the England national side made the cricketing world turn on its head. He was a driving force in England's dream run to the top of the ICC ODI Rankings.

A very safe wicket keeping option and a destructive batsman, Bairstow has made the world turn on its head. His performances for England have been spectacular, he has scored 1025 runs in 22 matches averaging a great 48 and a phenomenal strike rate of 120 in ODIs.

He can bat in any position in the top 5 but is most destructive at the top of the order and can be a suitable replacement for De Kock. With the side releasing the other opener Mccullum, Bairstow can certainly be a good pick for RCB this season.

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