Jonassen Signing Fits RCB's Plan, Says Head Coach Rangarajan

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) were unable to retain Australian all-rounder Sophie Molineux at the WPL 2027 auction despite bidding up to Rs 1.05 crore. The team lost the bidding battle to UP Warriorz, but head coach Malolan Rangarajan says the franchise is pleased with how its squad has come together.

In comments made on auction day, Rangarajan described how RCB approached the bidding. He also explained why the franchise picked injured Australian all-rounder Jess Jonassen for Rs 40 lakh while building its squad for the coming season.

Rangarajan said RCB had made a serious attempt to keep Molineux. He noted that the team had to think beyond her, because the auction purse of Rs 1.15 crore had to cover other priorities as well.

'When you have Rs 1.15 crore and you go up to Rs 1.05 crore for someone, I believe we made our best effort to bring her back,' he said. 'We also need to recognise that we won the championship last year, so we would have liked to keep her. We wanted to show that. I wish Sophie well playing for UP. She is a wonderful cricketer. Auctions are like this, and we had other players we were tracking.'

After missing out on Molineux, RCB still completed its squad by signing four players. In addition to Jonassen, the group includes South African all-rounder Chloe Tryon, Indian batter Tejal Hasabnis and Indian batter Vrinda Dinesh. The total outlay for the four was Rs 1.10 crore, which adds depth to the spin attack, all-round options and the Indian batting line-up.

Jonassen's fitness ahead of the tournament remains a key point. The Australian has withdrawn from the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) while recovering from injury. RCB, however, hopes she will be available for the WPL in time.

Rangarajan said the franchise had weighed the risk before signing the experienced left-arm spinner and had alternative plans ready if her recovery took longer than expected. The latest update is that she should be fit by the end of December. She is also expected to play some domestic List A games in Australia before the WPL begins.

'Jess is a very seasoned player. We know her current fitness, but we still wanted her, and it was the same with Sophie. We knew exactly what we were getting,' he said. 'If needed, all our backup plans are ready. My focus is on Jess and how she improves our team. She is a left-arm spinner who can be a powerplay option in the middle and death overs, and most importantly, she can bat anywhere between fourth and sixth. I am very happy to have Jess in the team.'

RCB entered the auction with 13 retained players and Rs 1.15 crore left in its purse. The retained group includes captain Smriti Mandhana, Richa Ghosh, Ellyse Perry, Georgia Voll, Nadine de Klerk, Shreyanka Patil and Lauren Bell, among others.