Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar has said that it was a puzzle why Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) haven’t won an IPL title till date and opined that too much reliance on captain Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers can be a reason for it.
RCB’s AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli (Twitter Image)
HIGHLIGHTS
- Sunil Gavaskar said it was a puzzle why RCB haven’t won an IPL title
- Gavaskar added that a team having Kohli and de Villiers should never be short of runs
- The batting legend predicted that Yuzvendra Chahal can be RCB’s match-winner in UAE
It’s game time now. World’s biggest T20 league is here and almost 6 hours away from its kick start. The heartbeats of the players and fans are touching new records for sure, new cricketing records will be in trend in a short while. However, there are some milestones which will be bigger than the rest, one of them being India captain Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore’s (RCB) maiden title win in these 13 years of Indian Premier League (IPL).
Before the start of every season, fans and experts work out various permutations and combinations for RCB, thinking that this might be their year of triumph. ‘Ee Sala Cup Namde’ — they say it every year but unfortunately they have been devoid of the elusive silverware. Notably, thrice have they come on the threshold of winning the trophy but have failed on every single occasion.
RCB have always basted of a powerful batting line-up. Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers have been a constant in it. The bowling department have also been potent but then what could be the reason?
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has said that a team having the likes of Kohli and de Villiers should never be short of runs and it was a puzzle as to why the team has failed to lift the trophy. The batting maestro added that over reliance on Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers can be a reason.
“Why a team like Royal Challengers Bangalore hasn’t won the title as yet is a puzzle. Any team that has Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers should never be short of runs and maybe that’s also a problem, for when these two failed, as humans sometimes do, then the others haven’t put their hands up. They have a new coach and will be hoping that this will be their year,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for Sportstar.
Further, Sunil Gavaskar reckoned that keeping in mind the slow nature of the UAE pitches, Kohli and de Villiers should think of opening together and face the ball when it is hard. The pitches in UAE are also expected to generate good spin and this can me leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal RCB’s match-winner, Sunil Gavaskar stated.
“On pitches that will get slower, it may be a good idea to have both the champion batsmen open the batting while the ball is hard and new and will come on to the bat nicely than when the spinners are operating. Leggie Yuzvendra Chahal could be a match-winner for RCB on those pitches,” Sunil Gavaskar said.
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RCB will face Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) to kick off their IPL 2020 campaign on Monday.