“My 4 priority players are Yuzvendra Chahal, Kagiso Rabada, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Ravi Ashwin” – AB de Villiers’ wish for RCB in IPL 2025 auction

Former South African captain AB de Villiers wants RCB to target Yuzvendra Chahal, Kagiso Rabada, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Ravichandran Ashwin in the IPL 2025 mega auction. RCB decided to retain Virat Kohli (21 crore), Rajat Patidar (11 crore), and Yash Dayal (5 crore) ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction and thus have a huge purse of INR 83 crore remaining.

While Chahal and Ashwin were not retained by Rajasthan Royals, Kagiso Rabada and Bhuvneshwar Kumar were also let go by Punjab Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad respectively.

AB highlighted that RCB needs bowlers who can bowl successfully at the Chinnaswamy, which has been a paradise for the batters over the years.

AB de Villiers said on his YouTube Channel, “My four priority players are Yuzvendra Chahal, Kagiso Rabada, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Ravi Ashwin. We can make a plan with the rest of the money we have left in the auction. If you can’t get Rabada, I get hold of Mohammed Shami. If you can’t get him, get hold of Arshdeep Singh. So there’s lots of options.”

“We don’t need a trophy. Forget about the trophy. We need a trophy. We need a team that understands the Chinnaswamy, who can bowl to plans, who can play to plans, who has got a very good understanding about the game of cricket,” De Villiers added.

Meanwhile, Yuzvendra Chahal was an integral part of RCB from 2014 to 2021 and de Villiers wants the franchise to once again bag the leg-spinner. Chahal is the leading wicket-taker in the IPL history with 205 scalps.

“The good news is we still have Virat. And we didn’t spend too much with the retentions. There’s a lot in the bank still, which I am very happy about. Let’s get Yuzi (Chahal) back at RCB where he belongs. He should have never left,” De Villiers said in the same interaction.

IPL 2025 mega auction will take place in Jeddah on November 24 and 25.