Virender Sehwag Slammed RCB Management: The Virat Kohli-starer Royal Challengers Bangalore have faced a huge setback halfway through the season. RCB is currently sitting at the bottom of the points table with 6 defeats out of their 7 games in the ongoing 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League.
To qualify for the IPL 2024 playoffs, RCB will not only have to win all the remaining games but also hope for other teams’ results to go in their favor.
It’s a difficult situation for RCB, who are currently struggling to win the prestigious IPL trophy for a long time now. However, their hopes seem to be fading fast after 30 games.
Virender Sehwag Slammed RCB Management
Former India cricketers Virender Sehwag and Manoj Tiwary shared their thoughts on Royal Challengers Bangalore‘s poor performance in IPL 2024. Sehwag pointed out the absence of Indian support staff, which has impacted the domestic players’ performance. RCB’s coaching staff consists mainly of overseas coaches, which may be hindering the local players’ development.
“If you have 12-15 Indian players, just 10 overseas and your entire staff is made of foreigners, that’s an issue. Only a few of them are international players, rest are all Indians and half of them don’t even understand English. How will you motivate them? Who spends time with them? Who talks to them? I can’t see a single Indian staff member. At least there should be someone who the players can confide in,” Sehwag said on Cricbuzz.
Sehwag added: “Players need a comfort level which they are not getting presently. Players go blank in front of captain Faf du Plessis because if he asks something, they will have to answer. If the leader is Indian, you can share what’s going through your mind. But if you do that to an overseas player, you may be left out of the Playing XI in the next game. RCB need at least 2-3 Indian support staff.”
Further, Sehwag’s former teammate Tiwary pointed out RCB’s issues starting from the IPL auction, where their bowling department lacks depth. Releasing key players like Shivam Dube and Yuzvendra Chahal is now proving to be a mistake. Additionally, the decision to bench expensive players like Glenn Maxwell and Cameron Green raises eyebrows. Tiwary’s analysis suggests that RCB has a lot to address in a limited timeframe.
“I know where the problem is. From the auction table to the management. All the good players of this franchise leave to go and play for other teams. One of them is the leading wicket-taker this season [Yuzvendra Chahal]. You let them go. You don’t persist with Virat Kohli’s captaincy. He led them to the 2016 final. Then today, the 4 costliest players of the franchise whose collective budget is more than ₹40 crore, are all benched. Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, Alzarri Joseph. Siraj was rested. So when you’re spending so much money and then benching these players, you know where the problem lies,” said Tiwary.
He added: “Batting is not a problem. It was always bowling. They don’t have a specialist spinner. You’re making Will Jacks open the bowling. Sometimes Mahipal Lomror and even some of the on-field captaincy calls are terrible. Everything is wrong from every corner. They need to regroup entirely and devise a long-term plan.”
