5 players RCB should look to retain in 2018 IPL auctions

#2 AB de Villiers

AB de Villiers

Retention Mode - Pre-auction retention

A hard-hitting batsman, a part-time wicket-keeper, and one of the best fielders in the world, there is nothing AB de Villiers can't do on a cricket field. The experience he carries and the strength he brings to the team are just incredible. He has been one of the three pillars of the RCB team in the past few seasons, the others being Virat Kohli and Chris Gayle.

He has been part of the RCB team since the 2011 edition of the tournament when they bought him for a whopping $1.1 million. de Villiers has scored 3473 runs in 129 matches at an average of 38.16. His strike rate of 148.16 is the second highest among the batsmen who have scored more than 3000 runs in the IPL.

Only Chris Gayle has a higher strike rate of 151.20 in the 101 matches that he has played in the IPL. Though IPL 2017 was a season to forget for him - he managed to score just 216 runs from his nine outings - de Villiers will still be one of the most dependable players for RCB. The hard-hitting South African batsman is another prized possession of the RCB team and they have to retain him if they are to do well this season.