Royal Challengers Bangalore: What Did Your Team Do in Offseason?

The 2015 IPL season is here and fans can expect it to be one of the best tournaments to date. With the 2015 season coming on the heels of the Cricket World Cup, both athletes and fans are already in the swing of things when it comes to competitive spirit.

According to an official media release provided by the Indian Premier League, a total of 123 cricketers – including 79 Indians and 44 Overseas players – were retained by IPL franchises. Five Indian cricketers were traded in the offseason.

For those unfamiliar with the process, teams in the IPL essentially have a salary cap of Rs 63 crores, about a 5 percent increase from the 2014 season salary cap. The salaries of any retained players get deducted from this Rs 63 crore amount.

“Teams have the right, at their sole election, to extend player contracts for another season,” Ranjib Biswal, IPL Chairman, said.  “This allows for teams to make any course corrections to their squads as a way to strengthen their team ahead of the next season. It is a way to balance the need for continuity whilst allowing for churn which is very important from the league’s perspective. The released players will have the option to put their names up for the player auction for the 2015 season.”

Here is what Royal Challengers Bangalore did in the offseason:

RCB (Retained Players): Virat Kohli, AB deVillers, Chris Gayle, Mitchell Starc, Nic Maddinson, Varun Aaron, Yuzvendra Singh Chahal, Rilee Rossouw, Vijay Zol, Yogesh Takawale, Abu Nechim Ahmed, Harshal Patel, Ashoke Dinda, Sandeep Warrier, Manvinder Bisla, Iqbal Abdullah.

RCB (Released Players): Albie Morkel, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ravi Rampaul, Sachin Rana, Shadab Jakati, Tanmay Mishra, Yuvraj Singh.

Rohit Ghosh is a Senior Writer for www.Rantsports.com. Follow him on Twitter @RohitGhosh. “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.