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In the past few seasons of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have been abysmal.
Since making into the final of the 2016 edition of IPL, RCB has not managed to reach the playoffs.
The Virat Kohli-led side finished last in IPL 2017 and then again in IPL 2019. They finished sixth on the points table in IPL 2018.
Much has been talked about RCB’s lop-sided balance in the team, which is heavily in favour of batsmen. Kohli’s captaincy in recent seasons has been severely criticized.
Now, former Indian opener, Gautam Gambhir, has detailed about the problems surrounding the RCB, in regards to captaincy.
“What Virat Kohli has said, when you are happy with your squad as a captain, you would have already planned which playing XI you want to play. If you are satisfied, then the calmness also comes along. Because there are times that you do not come to know your best XI in the entire tournament and that is why you make a lot of changes,” Gambhir said on Star Sports show ‘Cricket Connected’.
“I still feel that RCB look a little batting-heavy. But one thing that you will see a little different is that the bowlers will be happy because they will not have to play 7 matches at the Chinnaswamy Stadium,” he added.
RCB make changes very quickly: Gambhir
Gambhir further pointed out the difference in captaincy between Kohli-led RCB and the MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
“The biggest difference between Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni is that MS Dhoni persists with his players for 6-7 matches. If you see RCB’s trend, they make changes very quickly because they have a doubt that their playing XI does not have a proper balance.”
“So I would want to see from RCB that even if the start is not good, they should persist with their playing XI and give them 6-7 matches. Because then only the players will give you performances and not if you give one or two matches. So if Virat Kohli has calmness in his mind that this is the most balanced squad, the important thing will be how they perform and how much he persists with these players,” Gambhir concluded.
RCB will face Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their opening game of the tournament, scheduled on September 21.
