Tennis icon Mahesh Bhupathi urged the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to consider altering the ownership of the Bengaluru franchise in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
RCB’s journey in IPL 2024 has been challenging, with the team positioned at the bottom of the table with just 2 points and a net run rate of -1.185. Having lost 6 out of 7 games, including a current 5-match losing streak, Faf du Plessis’ squad faces an uphill battle to secure a spot in the playoffs.
Mahesh Bhupathi Urged BCCI To Sell RCB To New Owners
For the unversed, United Spirits Limited currently owns RCB, succeeding Vijay Mallya, who held the ownership from 2008 to 2016.
Mahesh Bhupathi, who is a recipient of 12 Grand Slam titles in doubles and mixed doubles, took to his Twitter account and emphasized the necessity of introducing a change in ownership for the team.
Check out his Tweet:
“For the sake of the Sport, the IPL, the fans and even the players I think BCCI needs to enforce the Sale of RCB to a new owner who will care to build a sports franchise the way most of the other teams have done so,” Bhupathi wrote on ‘X’.
For the sake of the Sport , the IPL, the fans and even the players i think BCCI needs to enforce the Sale of RCB to a New owner who will care to build a sports franchise the way most of the other teams have done so. #tragic
— Mahesh Bhupathi (@Maheshbhupathi) April 15, 2024
Royal Challengers Bengaluru went through a nightmare against SRH:
RCB’s performance in the ongoing T20 league has been dismal. Not even halfway into their campaign, Bengaluru must win almost all their remaining matches to have any hope of progressing to the next round.
Facing SRH on Tuesday, RCB’s bowlers struggled as Hyderabad piled up a massive score of 287 for 3. Travis Head’s blistering century further worsened RCB’s situation. All the bowlers conceded runs heavily, with Reece Topley, Yash Dayal, Lockie Ferguson, and Vijaykumar Vyshak each giving away over 50 runs in their allotted 4 overs.
Following Dinesh Karthik’s explosive knock of 83 runs at a remarkable strike-rate of 237.14, RCB managed to reach 262 for 7, falling short by 25 runs against SRH. Despite Karthik’s heroic efforts, RCB faced defeat. Now, they face a daunting challenge as they prepare to take on Shreyas Iyer’s KKR at the Eden Gardens on Sunday, April 21.