Over the years, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have been one of the sides that doesn’t shy away from spending big money at the auction. They have often bought big players for big money and have ended up compromising on other players. And those players last for one season and are released the next year.

However, over the last couple of years, RCB have been smart in the way they’ve invested in players but just haven’t found the right combination. They’ve been very inconsistent and have failed to qualify for the playoffs for three seasons in a row now.

In the auction for the 2020 season, they bought eight players. The likes of Chris Morris, Dale Steyn and Aaron Finch are some of the big names they’ve bought. Thus, RCB are looking decent at the moment. However, there are a few players who will have to miss out.

Here are five players RCB might not pick in the playing XI in the 2020 season:

Kane Richardson

Kane Richardson was a slightly surprising pick. Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) went after Chris Jordan but for some reason, they backed out at INR 3 crore. However, they went after Richardson and bought him for INR 4 crore. He has played 14 IPL games and taken 18 wickets across three seasons and for three different teams.

The last time the Australian pacer featured in the IPL was back in 2016 and it was with RCB. Richardson has been in good form in the recent past. He featured in all six T20Is Australia played at home and did well too. He picked up eight wickets in those games and looked good.

However, he may find it tough to break into the RCB XI. The Virat Kohli-led side has a strong Indian fast bowling core and they also have added the likes of Dale Steyn and Isuru Udana. Hence, it’ll be interesting to see if Richardson will get a place in the starting XI.

Gurkeerat Singh Mann

Gurkeerat Singh Mann has been around for a while now. He made his IPL debut back in 2012 but has played just 33 IPL games. Between 2012 and 2017, he was a part of the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) side and played 30 games across multiple seasons. But didn’t really make a mark as he made 342 runs at an average of 16.29.

In the 2018 auctions, he was picked by Delhi but didn’t play a game. However, in 2019, he was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). Mann played three games and was very good in the last game of the last season as he scored 65 and led RCB to a win.

However, he may not get a place in the starting XI this time around straightaway. RCB have quite a few options to choose from. With the likes of Devdutt Padikkal and Shivam Dube in good form, Mann will do well to beat them to make it to the XI.

Josh Phillipe

Josh Phillipe is a relatively unknown commodity but is coming up the ranks pretty quickly. The Western Australian wicket-keeper batsman has made a decent start to his career. He has been pretty impressive in the domestic 50-over competition in Australia.

However, it is his recent Big Bash League (BBL) exploits that brought him into the limelight. Playing for the Sydney Sixers, Phillipe struck a fine 81 in the first game before top-scoring with 24 in the second. Overall, he has a good T20 record. He averages 34.67 and strikes at 155.22.

However, he may not get a place in the starting XI. Parthiv Patel is going to be RCB’s first-choice wicket-keeping option and Phillipe will be the backup. Moreover, RCB have quite a few overseas options to choose from and hence, Phillipe may not get a place in the XI.

Pavan Deshpande

RCB have only two Karnataka players in their squad. One is Devdutt Padikkal who has been in fine form and the other is Pavan Deshpande who has done well over the last couple of seasons. He was even a part of the RCB squad in 2018 before they released him in the 2019 season.

However, they have gone ahead and bought him again this time around at his base price. Deshpande has a good T20 record. The left-handed batsman has an average of 47.33 and a strike-rate of nearly 150. He’s been a key member of the Karnataka side over the last couple of years.

But it is very tough for him to break into the XI. With the likes of Devdutt Padikkal, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar and the others in the pecking order, Deshpande might find it tough to get into the XI.

Pawan Negi

This might be a surprising name in this list. Pawan Negi has been a regular member of the RCB squad since the 2017 season. He had a very good run in 2017 before fading away in the last couple of seasons.

In 2018, RCB used the Right To Match (RTM) card for the left-arm spinning all-rounder. Over the last two seasons, he’s played nine games and picked up just four wickets. He’s hardly contributed with the bat. Hence, it was surprising that RCB didn’t release him ahead of the auction.

However, it might be tough for Negi to get into the starting XI. RCB have the likes of Washington Sundar and Moeen Ali as spinning all-rounders and the emergence of Shivam Dube will also make it tough for Negi. They’ve even bought Isuru Udana who can be very handy with the bat in the lower order.