The Bengaluru-based franchise has taken a bold step ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction to achieve that goal. According to a report by TOI as covered by MyKhel, only Virat Kohli will be retained for the upcoming season. While this report has generated a lot of buzz among RCB fans, it is still unconfirmed by the team officials. However, it is certainly a telling step that RCB are ready to release all but one of their squad roster, highlighting the perennial underperformance that the team have been associated with in the IPL. Retaining Virat Kohli is a no-brainer, with the former captain delivering with the bat season after season for his team. In IPL 2023, Kohli became the first batter to reach 7000 runs in the league, achieving that feat in 233 matches. IPL 2025: RCB to let go of Key Bowler and Skipper? A big shocker is the exclusion of star bowler Mohammed Siraj, with the Indian pacer taking 15 wickets in the last IPL edition. However, RCB will almost certainly go for him using their Right to Match (RTM) card if the price is justifiable. The exclusion of Faf du Plessis was expected, with the skipper's advanced age not being able to justify the high salary slab of retained players. There is a chance that RCB will use their RTM card to re-sign the South African veteran, considering his good performances with the bat in recent seasons. Their other overseas stars, including Glenn Maxwell and Cameron Green, failed to make any impact last season and are unlikely to be targeted in the upcoming IPL 2025 mega auction. IPL 2025 Auction: How Much Money Royal Challengers Bengaluru Can Spend? If Royal Challengers Bengaluru do end up with only one retention, they will have a massive remaining transfer purse of ₹102 crore. IPL 2025 teams have a complete transfer budget of ₹120 crore, increased from ₹100 crore. Virat Kohli, as the first and only retention for RCB, will set back his franchise by ₹18 crore. Entering the IPL 2025 mega auction with a hundred-crore-plus budget will allow RCB to go after their targets when they go under the hammer. Several names such as KL Rahul have been floated in media reports, but fans will be eager to see who will join the Red and Blues for next season.