Royal Challengers Banglore set to retain Virat Kohli and Maxwell ahead of mega auctions

Royal Challengers Bangalore are set to retain the services of former captain Virat Kohli and Australia’s Glen Maxwell ahead of IPL 2022 mega auction, as per reports by NDTV.

Notably, Kohli quit RCB captaincy after IPL 2021, and the franchise is yet to name their new skipper. Interestingly, 33-year-old Kohli is the highest run-getter in the IPL. He scored 405 runs last season, and was the 3rd best batter in the side. Kohli is expected to shoulder the batting responsibilities of the team, despite stepping down as the captain.

Kohli was the highest-paid player in IPL 2021 as his salary was Rs 17 crore.

Meanwhile, the retention of Maxwell won’t be surprising given that RCB won’t be able to retain star player AB de Villiers, who recently announced his retirement from all forms of cricket.

Maxwell was bought for a whopping ?14.25 crore by RCB in IPL 2021 auctions and he was outstanding last season as the all-rounder scored 513 runs at an average of 42.75 while being handy with his spin-bowling.

It is worth noting that according to the IPL rules, a team can retain a total four players of which a maximum of two can be overseas. All the eight existing teams have time till November 30 to announce the list of players they would retain

According to a report on ESPNCricinfo, the teams are likely to get a purse of Rs 90 crore in the upcoming IPL auction. The report further stated that the two new franchises – Lucknow and Ahmedabad, can pick three players before the auction after the retentions are over. The combination for these two teams would be two Indians and one overseas player.