Opinion: Selling Quinton de Kock was a bad move by RCB

An IPL title has always eluded the Royal Challengers Bangalore and selling Quinton de Kock to three-time champions Mumbai Indians in the trade window could prove to be a huge blunder in the build-up to the next season of this lucrative T20 tournament.

Quinton is currently one of the finest cricketing prospects in South Africa. He bats with the typical grace of a left-handed batsman and is very fluent and efficient at the crease. He amassed 201 runs in 8 matches for RCB last year, at a decent average of 25.12. In the quest to field a balanced line-up, skipper Virat Kohli was forced to leave Quinton out in place of the power-hitting Brendon Mccullum on a few occasions last year. Playing the veteran New Zealander instead of Quinton de Kock was a debatable move as is selling the South African youngster instead of Brendon.

Brendon Mccullum is one of the greatest T20 powerhouse batsmen ever but it is important to remember that age is not on his side. He managed a paltry 127 runs in 6 games in the IPL last year and is evidently not the player he once used to be. Quinton is young and has his best years ahead of him which is why it is baffling to see RCB letting him go. If the Bangalore franchise felt the need to get rid of an overseas batsman, it should have been Brendon Mccullum and certainly not Quinton de Kock.

Only time will tell if this move proves to be the first mistake in the build-up to yet another failed IPL campaign for the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Batting prowess apart, de Kock is an excellent wicket keeper. He was involved in 10 dismissals last year and is not one to let chances go astray. Finding a suitable replacement for him will be a task cut out for RCB and it remains to be seen as to what exactly lies in store for the Bengaluru franchise in IPL 2019.