IPL 2020: Mike Hesson to unveil the list of released and retained RCB players on November 15

The Indian Premier League is once again in the news as the transfer window is seeing some big movement before the auction which will take place in December 19 in Kolkata. The IPL governing council has given all the eight franchises a chance to trade players for a limited period of time before the auction and so far, it has seen a big transfer take place.

Recently, Kings XI Punjab traded off their captain for the last two seasons, Ravi Ashwin to Delhi Capitals in exchange for all-rounder J Suchith and INR 1.5 crores. This was in making for a long time, but for some reason, KXIP co-owner Ness Wadia had refuted the claims of the trade happening but confirmed that the two parties had parted ways amicably. Now all eyes are on other franchises on which players they retain and which they release and one of those teams is fan-favorite Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).

RCB’s Mike Hesson confirms the date

RCB director of cricket operations Mike Hesson says the confirmed list of retained and released players will be finalized on November 15. The team has been one of the most underperforming ones given that despite the huge star power, they have not won the tournament even once. They have finished in the bottom half of the points table for the last three editions.

For all those @RCBTweets fans who are asking about updates on released/retained players, they will be finalised on the 15th November …….. #RCB #ipl #iplauction #ipl2020

— Mike Hesson (@CoachHesson) November 8, 2019

Despite the presence of Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Moeen Ali, Chris Gayle and other similarly batting powerhouses in recent years, the franchise has struggled due to poor choices of bowling options that they have picked in the auctions. Death overs bowling has always been the Achilles heel and this even led to some matches where RCB couldn’t manage to defend a huge total in their own backyard.

This year they have decided to revamp their coaching and support staff and parted ways with Gary Kirsten and Ashish Nehra and have brought in Simon Katich as head coach, Mithun Minhas as assistant coach, and re-hired Basu Shanker as strength and conditioning coach apart from becoming the first IPL franchise to hire a woman in Navnita Gautam as the Sports massage therapist.