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IPL 2025 Auction: Krunal Pandya Over Faf Du Plessis - Decoding RCB's Strange Auction Tactic

Probuddha Bhattacharjee

Krunal Pandya and Faf du Plessis [Source: @LoyalSachinFan, @TanishNagda/x.com]Krunal Pandya and Faf du Plessis [Source: @LoyalSachinFan, @TanishNagda/x.com]

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One of the biggest surprises during the release of the retention lists was the release of Faf du Plessis by the Royal Challengers Bengaluru. One of the most popular franchises in the league, they did well in a couple of seasons under his leadership. However, RCB decided to look ahead of him.

Well a lot of the fans expected that RCB will bid for him on Day 2 of the IPL 2025 mega auction, but RCB refrained from raising the pedal for him or using the RTM on him. Instead, RCB went ahead and picked up the Indian all-rounder, Krunal Pandya for INR 5.75 Cr. 

So, let us try and analyse this decision of RCB, was it a blunder by them to ignore Faf and go after Krunal Pandya.

Why RCB Did Not Repurchase Faf du Plessis?

In IPL 2024, Faf du Plessis scored 438 runs in 15 matches at an average of 29.20 at a strike rate of 161.62. If we just see the numbers, then it looks decent. In fact, in most of the games RCB did well because Faf along with Virat Kohli gave them a solid foundation. 

The performance and the consistency should not be a reasons behind ignoring Faf. The fact that du Plessis is aged 40 seems to be the only reason that they have decided to not include him as a part of their squad. 

Why RCB Purchased Krunal Pandya?

In his IPL career, Krunal Pandya has scored 1,647 runs in 127 matches at an average of 22.56 and a strike rate of 132.82. He has also picked up 76 wickets in these games while having an average of 34.29 and an economy rate of 7.37. 

If we look beyond the numbers, Krunal Pandya has been a good finisher. During his time with the Mumbai Indians, the Indian all-rounder was known for the powerful finishes that he provided. There were some games for both MI and LSG, where Krunal Pandya bailed his team out of pressure with utility knocks under pressure.

Krunal Over Faf - Why The Decision Is Justified?

Opening Slot Sorted - The Royal Challengers Bengaluru have sorted their opening spot with Phil Salt and Virat Kohli. Thus, the inclusion of Faf du Plessis would have been redundant for them.

Need Of A Finisher - The RCB have struggled with finisher problems since time immemorial. From the very beginning of the IPL auction they were looking to sort out their middle order. The inclusion of Liam Livingstone was one of the key indicators that they are looking to solve their middle-order and late-order problems. If seen from this angle then the purchase of Krunal Pandya seems well justified and the price of INR 5.75 also looks decent.