AB de Villiers rates Bangalore’s performance in the Indian T20 League mini-auction for upcoming season

South Africa and Bangalore legend AB de Villiers assessed Bangalore's performance at the recently-concluded Indian T20 League mini-auction in Kochi for the upcoming season in 2023. De Villiers said that he would give the franchise a solid nine out of ten for their performance at the 2023 auction. The former Bangalore player stated that he likes the look of the team and that it's just a matter of building on last year's performance in order to go all the way.

"Yeah I like the look of this team that had a good season last year, they came close. There's good balance, good backup, I just need a couple of guys in form. It's the same old story i think when it comes to that, we need couple of guys in the top order to fire. There's a lot of class in that line-up. I feel the bowling attack, Josh Hazlewood has been the best find. I think he is a quality class player, very experienced. That's exactly what we needed in the last few years." de Villiers was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

It's just a matter of building: Ab De Villiers

De Villiers said that the team just needs Glen Maxwell to get his form back and the team will be complete as in the middle order Rajat Patidar has performed really well in the previous season and in the domestic circuit as well. He said that Virat Kohli is already in great form.

"It's just a matter of getting Maxi in form and then somebody like a Rajat Patidar to make sure, he continues with that kind of form and a few guys chipping around him. Virat we know, batted well in the World Cup and if he is in form, we are gonna go a long way. So looking forward to see these boys perform. They've got a lot of confidence from last year and now it's just a matter of building on that and taking it all the way. It's not my number one. It's nine out of ten but they'll come close." said De Villiers.

England’s Will Jacks was the most expensive buy for Bangalore in the mini-auction as they spent INR 3.2 crore for the right-hander. Jack’s fellow teammate Reece Topley was the only other player for which the franchise spent more than a crore in the auction with the pacer fetching INR 1.9 crore.

Bangalore bought five uncapped players to complete their squad for the upcoming edition of the cash-rich league. Rajan Kumar (INR 70 lakh), Avinash Singh (INR 60 lakh), Sonu Yadav (INR 20 lakh), Manoj Bhandage (INR 20 lakh), and Himanshu Sharma (INR 20 Lakh) will be the uncapped players for Bangalore.