Former South Africa and RCB star AB de Villiers has shared his wishlist for the players he believes Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) should prioritise in the IPL 2025 mega auction. A key figure in RCB for 11 seasons, de Villiers hopes the team can finally secure their first IPL title. With an impressive auction purse of ₹83 crore, de Villiers sees RCB’s spending power as an opportunity to strengthen their squad.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, de Villiers emphasised the importance of reacquiring a familiar face, star spinner Yuzvendra Chahal: "Let’s get Yuzi back at RCB where he belongs. He should never have left." De Villiers also named Kagiso Rabada, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar as essential targets, each bringing unique skills to build a formidable bowling lineup.
"I really like Ashwin," he explained. "All that experience, and he’s a match-winner with the bat as well. Imagine a twin-spin attack with Ashwin and Chahal!"
De Villiers is also keen for his compatriot, pacer Kagiso Rabada, to join RCB. He argued that bringing in Rabada, Chahal, and Ashwin could give the team a championship-caliber attack. As backup options, he suggested Mohammed Shami or Arshdeep Singh if Rabada isn’t secured.
With ₹83 crore and three Right to Match (RTM) cards—plus retained players Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, and Yash Dayal—RCB heads into the auction on November 24-25 in Jeddah.