RCB's IPL trade Window Analysis: A recipe for disaster

The IPL trade window this season became an opportunity for IPL teams to correct the mistakes that they made in the IPL Auction 2018. This season also saw many shocking retentions and even more shocking releases. As seen in the previous seasons often teams falter in creating a perfect combination which adversely affects the performance on the field.

The trade window this season was more important considering the fact that this season will see many complications due to general elections in India and 2019 World Cup scheduled just after the IPL.

As per the initial reports, IPL will take place in either UAE or South Africa due to general elections in Inda. Also, Australian and English boards have made it clear that their players will not participate in the tournament in May.

All this increased the value of the trade window as this was the last chance before auctions to consolidate the team and form a solid core of players.

The RCB team management ensured that this trade window became the epitome of mismanagement and miscalculations. Let us take a look at a few main points which will show why RCB's trade Window was equal to shooting oneself in the foot.

Quinton de Kock

He scored 201 runs in 9 matches in the previous edition

If you are an IPL team whose identity has been strong batting line up and you have one of the world's best batsman. What do you do? Well, anyone in their right mind will try to build their team around that player but not RCB. RCB trade that player for just INR 2.8 crores.

In recent years, Quinton de Kock has established himself as one of the leading batsmen in the world. Though his performance in the previous season was not out of the world, as they say, "form is temporary, class is permanent". The Proteas keeper is always just an innings away from finding his form and turning his fortunes.

The things which make this trade even more puzzling is the team they have traded him to, Mumbai Indians. The only visible problem in the Mumbai dugout was a lack of dependable wicket-keeper batsman who could handle the insurmountable amount of pressure in crunch situations (Ishan Kishan's inexperience makes him the wrong choice for this role).

RCB, as the name, suggests in their royal way gifted an early Diwali present to the Mumbai franchise by providing the solution to their only problem in a gift-wrapped package. Also, considering the fact that this year's IPL could take place in South Africa, where De Kock has a brilliant record, makes this decision unexplainable.

Backup wicketkeeper?

RCB had a good pool of wicketkeeping options. Brendon Mccullum, Quinton De Kock and Parthiv Patel. Guess what? They let go two of the most decorated wicket-keeper batsman during the trade window. While Parthiv Patel is a dependable batsman, he is still quite a long way away from being a guaranteed name in any of the franchise's first XI.

Wriddhiman Saha is the only A-list Indian wicket-keeper batsman available in the Auction. So now if RCB wants a dependable backup wicket-keeper who can also bat, they can now only pray that the other teams show the same amount of generosity on Auction day which RCB showed when gifting Mumbai Indians Quinton de Kock.

The solution to this problem could have been Jonny Bairstow but clouds of uncertainty which surrounds the participation of English players could even prevent him from participating in the 12th edition of the IPL

Who is going to score the runs?

If we take a look at the 11-year history of the IPL, the one thing which has been common is the identity of RCB as a batting unit. From Chris Gayle to Virat Kohli, a strong top order has always been the trademark of an RCB side.

One look at the current roster post-trade window tells a different story this season. RCB has just three recognized batsmen in AB de Villiers, Virat Kohli and Parthiv Patel. They even traded a useful middle-order batsman, Mandeep Singh, in favour of Marcus Stoinis.

While Stoinis is a useful player in the format, the unavailability of Australian players who are World Cup-bound in May makes him a risky buy. Also, Stoinis place in the side is doubtful as RCB already had two overseas all-rounders in Moeen Ali and Colin De Grandhomme.

The sale of Mandeep Singh is something which can not be easily understood as he would have been a certainty in the team because of the need for an Indian middle-order batsman.

Now, as things stand, unless Virat Kohli or ABD score a century in every game even getting a decent total on the board might prove challenging for RCB.

What do they need?

RCB will have a last chance at redemption at this year's auction. They need to fill a lot of holes in their team. If they want to present a royal challenge in IPL 2019, they need at least two to three Indian middle-order batsmen. Other than this, they would also need at least one pure opener assuming that the other spot would be filled by either Virat or Parthiv.

They also need a favour or two from other franchises if they want to succeed at this year's auction. This favour would be needed because they just have 18 crores left in their purse and quite a few spots to fill so they definitely cannot afford a tussle during the Auction.

Their bowling and presence of quality all-rounders are the only things which look good. Having said that, the addition of another bowler who can bowl at death would be ideal.

In: Marcus Stoinis

Out: Quinton de Kock, Mandeep Singh, Brendon McCullum, Chris Woakes, Corey Anderson, Sarfraz Khan

Retained: Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Parthiv Patel, Washington Sundar, Pawan Negi, Moeen Ali, Colin de Grandhomme, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Siraj, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Kulwant Khejroliya, Nathan Coulter-Nile

Salary cap available: 18.15 crores