New Delhi: Former Australia spinner Brad Hogg has criticized Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for trading Australian all-rounder Cameron Green from Mumbai Indians (MI) before the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 player auction. Initially named in MI’s list of retained players, Green was later traded to RCB to accommodate Hardik Pandya’s return from Gujarat Titans (GT), freeing up MI's purse.

Mumbai Indians had acquired Green for Rs 17.50 crore at the IPL player auction last year. Hogg believes RCB made a poor choice by trading Green for the same amount, thinking he would be costlier at the IPL 2024 auction. While acknowledging Green's talent, Hogg suggests he would be better suited to another franchise. He also points out how RCB weakened their purse by acquiring Green, leaving them with insufficient funds to strengthen their bowling attack.

Hogg stated, “Is he (Cameron Green) worth it? RCB. I’m looking at their lineup. I think this is a poor choice. Nothing against Cameron Green’s talent. He was good quality for Mumbai Indians last year. But if you look at RCB's list, they spend big on their batting lineup.”

“They don’t have enough cash there to spend on quality bowlers. And if you’re gonna win an IPL, it’s a defensive game. You need quality bowlers to be able to defend totals and set the game up. So for me, I think this is a poor choice from RCB. I think Cameron Green could have been suited at another club, but they made the choice and I don’t think it’s a good thing for RCB,” he added.

After missing the playoffs last season, Royal Challengers Bangalore are overhauling their squad, releasing 11 players before the IPL 2024 auction, including big names like Josh Hazlewood, Wanindu Hasaranga, and Harshal Patel. Having almost entirely released their bowling attack from the last season, RCB retained only Mohammed Siraj, Reece Topley, and Karn Sharma. With Rs 23.25 crore left in their purse after spending on Green, rebuilding their bowling attack will be a challenge for the franchise.

Players released by RCB ahead of IPL 2024: Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel, Josh Hazlewood, Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, David Willey, Wayne Parnell, Sonu Yadav, Avinash Singh, Siddharth Kaul, Kedar Jadhav.

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