IPL 2014: 5 players Royal Challengers Bangalore could retain

4. Cheteshwar Pujara

Yes, Cheteshwar Pujara has done close to nothing of note in the IPL so far. The 25-year-old averages less than 20, has a strike rate of below 100 and has struck just one score of 50+ in four seasons of the IPL.

Yet, there’s the feeling that it is just a matter of time before India’s number three in Tests starts producing the goods in the paisa-vasool version of the game. There’s a general theory that his style doesn’t suit the shorter forms of the game, but one look at his magnificent List A record makes that theory seem as fictional as J. R. R. Tolkien’s epic The Lords of the Rings.

I, for one, strongly believe that Pujara will be the perfect foil for the likes of Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers to bat around. He could prove to be the just the man who could see RCB through a problematic situation on a difficult pitch away from the Chinnaswamy, something that proved to be a story of abject failure for the franchise last season.

Retention Possibility: 35%