Royal Challengers Bangalore: A franchise not afraid to spend money

Royal Challengers Bangalore have long had the Indian Premier League’s most star-studded team. The IPL club have never been afraid to spend money on world-class cricket players whatever their price. Despite losing three IPL Finals – never winning the league’s top prize – Royal Challengers Bangalore haven’t been conservative with their spending.

The club have some of the biggest players in the world currently including cricket’s highest paid player Virat Kohli. Other star names on the 2020 team include AB de Villiers and Moneen Ali. Royal Challengers Bangalore have not been afraid to spend money and these ex-players show just how the club have gone about their business.

Cameron White, 2008

The first-ever Royal Challengers Bangalore season saw the club snap up Australian Cameron White. He went for $500,000 in the IPL auction which was more than Shane Warne and Ricky Ponting. Despite the potential and price tag, White failed to set the IPL on fire. White was a middle of the order batsman, who struggled with the Twenty20 cricket format. He would later play for the Deccan Chargers and Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Kevin Pietersen, 2009

In 2009, Kevin Pietersen joined Royal Challengers Bangalore as the world’s highest paid cricket player alongside Englishman Andrew Flintoff. Royal Challengers Bangalore purchase Pietersen for £1.1 million at the IPL auction raising expectations amongst the club’s fanbase. Although the club struggled under Pietersen’s captaincy early on in the season, Royal Challengers Bangalore recovered in the second half of the tournament and made the IPL Final, where they lost to Deccan Chargers. Pietersen struggled with the pressure in his debut season as he scored just 93 runs in six games. His follow-up campaign was better as he scored 236 runs in seven matches.

Yuvraj Singh, 2014

The 2014 IPL auction saw the Royal Challengers Bangalore purchase southpaw Yuvraj Singh for a whopping $2.33m. The final fee came due to a bidding war for the player. Singh’s arrival at the Bangalore-based club occurred after his cancer battle, which he won. Royal Challengers Bangalore’s $2.33m bid was a then-record but Singh’s time at the club was short. He was released after the 2014 season.

Dinesh Kartik, 2015

In 2015, wicketkeeper Dinesh Kartik joined Royal Challengers Bangalore for $1.75m. He was one of the most sought-after players available in the IPL auction and his availability came just one year after moving to the Delhi Daredevils for $2.08m. Despite the move to the Royal Challengers Bangalore and hopes of a productive season, Kartik failed to live up to the price tag having his worst IPL season making just 141 runs in 16 games.

Darren Sammy, 2015

Royal Challengers Bangalore made a second poor IPL auction buy for the 2015 tournament as Darren Sammy also failed to materlise as a top all-rounder. Sammy was snapped up and registered as the 10^th highest paid player of the season and was bought for $441,280 after so-so tournament prior with Sunrisers Hyderabad. The all-rounder managed a meagre 13 runs with Royal Challengers Bangalore. Sammy spent both the 2015 and 2016 seasons with the Bangalore-based club before being released.
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