IPL 2019 | RCB’s over reliance on Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers is letting them down, opines Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar is of the opinion that Royal Challengers Bangalore are heavily dependent on the two of the finest batsmen Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers and that is not helping them this year. RCB is the only team which is waiting to register a win so far in the 12th edition of the league.
Kohli is having a terrible IPL this year so far as he is yet to get a big score on the board and that certainly has an impact on the overall performance of the side. RCB has lost all its four matches in the tournament so far and is currently lying at the bottom of the points table. After starting their campaign on a terrible note against Chennai Super Kings on the inaugural day of the tournament, they have lost against Mumbai Indians, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals. Gavaskar has stated that the team’s over-dependence on the reputed duo of Kohli and de Villiers is hurting them in the current season.
“Their over-reliance on two of the finest batsmen the game has seen is letting them down, for when these two fail the rest seem to lose their way and don't have the resilience,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for TOI.
“They, like other teams, are looking for the balance that wins them games, but have struggled more than others. Their experimentation at the top of the order has not quite worked and the middle-order
RCB will want to open their account on the points table when they will meet Kolkata Knight Riders at the Chinnaswamy Stadium today. However, they will have to find some answers in their bowling attack which hasn’t looked effective at all. The likes of Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini have all struggled and among the Indian bowlers, only Yuzvendra Chahal has looked good with the ball.
“The biggest problem for them is that they don't have a bowling attack - apart from the wily Chahal - that can stop the opposition batsmen from piling up the runs,” the former India opener explained.