'If I was RCB, I would not keep AB De Villiers': Former Australia spinner makes bold claim

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) once again failed to lift their maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) trophy in 2021 as they were eliminated from the playoffs. The Virat Kohli-led side made it to their second successive playoffs this year only to bow out after losing against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Eliminator. With Kohli set to step down as the captain next year, RCB are expected to revamp the entire squad in the upcoming IPL mega auction ahead of the 2022 edition.

RCB have a number of superstars in their ranks and will have to choose wisely when it comes to retentions. The BCCI is yet to confirm the retention policy ahead of the mega auction but it is expected that the board will allow each franchise to retain a maximum of three players. RCB are all but certain to retain Kohli and it remains to be seen who can be the other two players the franchise might not part ways with for IPL 2022.

Former Australia spinner Brad Hogg believes RCB should part ways with superstar batter AB de Villiers ahead of the new season. De Villiers has been one of the best overseas batters in the IPL over the years but his performances dipped this season as lack of competitive cricket reflected on his form. De Villiers could only manage 313 runs in 15 matches in IPL 2021 and question marks remain over his future with RCB.

Hogg said if he was RCB, he would let De Villiers go, however, he backed Chennai Super Kings to retain Faf du Plessis, who is also 37 and is not part of South Africa's T20 World Cup squad. "If I was RCB, I would not keep AB de Villiers because his future is a little more unsettled than the likes of Faf du Plessis," Hogg said in a video on his YouTube channel.

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De Villiers is RCB's second-highest run-getter of all time with 4522 runs in 157 matches for the franchise in IPL. He has two hundreds and 37 fifties to his name in the cash-rich league for RCB but has failed to inspire them to their maiden title.