In a major development, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have decided to release their captain Faf du Plessis and star all-rounder Glenn Maxwell ahead of the mega auction of the Indian Premier League 2025 (IPL 2025).
The mega auction for the Indian Premier League 2025 is likely to be held in late November or early December. The BCCI will reportedly allow five or six retentions this time and the Right To Match (RTM) option will also be brought back after being scrapped in the 2021 auction.
Ahead of the auction, all eyes are on Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) as the franchise is speculated to be on the lookout for a new captain. The name rumoured to be on RCB’s radar is KL Rahul, who has been the captain of LSG for the past few years.
Recently, Lucknow Super Giants owner Sanjiv Goenka, during a media interaction, said that KL Rahul is a crucial part of the Super Giants family but denied the confirmation of his stay. This further fueled the rumours about his exit from the franchise.
It is noteworthy that rumours about Lucknow Super Giants captain KL Rahul’s exit from the franchise surfaced after he was brutally beaten on the field by Sanjiv Goenka following the loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell on the verge of being sacked by RCB
According to Anandabazar Patrika, Faf du Plessis, who took over the leadership of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, will be released before the mega auction.
Faf du Plessis had a decent performance with the bat in the 2024 Indian Premier League as he scored 438 runs in 15 matches at an average of 29.2 and a strike rate of 161.62. However, Proteas star Faf du Plessis is 40 years old and is not going to get any younger. Therefore, the mega auction will be an ideal time for the franchise to look for a new captain.
The other big name that will be launched by Royal Challengers Bengaluru is Glenn Maxwell. Australian superstar Glenn Maxwell was signed by RCB in the IPL 2021 auction for a whopping Rs 14.25 crore. Glenn Maxwell scored 513 runs in 15 matches at a strike rate of 144.10 in that season, which led RCB to retain him for Rs 11 crore ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auction.
However, Glenn Maxwell was extremely poor with both bat and ball in IPL 2024. In 10 matches, he scored 52 runs at an average of 5.78 and a strike rate of 120.93. With the ball, he took 6 wickets at an average of 21.50, an economy of 8.06 and a strike rate of 16.00.
The reason for Glenn Maxwell’s release is that the RCB management has two other good players in the squad who will be given preference. Will Jacks and Cameron Green will be the main members of the team.
Talking more about RCB, they had a magical performance in the IPL 2024 as after a poor start, they won six matches on the trot to make it to the playoffs. However, they lost the tie against Rajasthan Royals.