I feel RCB’s bowling always gives over-par runs: Ambati Rayudu

Royal Challengers Bengaluru is one of few teams who have never won an Indian Premier League trophy in the 16-year history of the tournament. They are one of the most sought-after teams when talking about fandom and brand presence. Yet, the silverware has eluded them for years now. They have appeared with the same zeal for the 17th season of IPL and the luck does not seem to go in their favor looking at their performance so far.

Former Chennai Super Kings player, Ambati Rayudu has provided insights into what has gone wrong for the franchise over the years. He stressed that the balance between the batters and bowlers in the team needs serious scrutiny. It has been that sort of case for RCB as their bowlers fail to defend the most defendable target and their batters rely on some star players to deliver every time. In some instances, their batting stalwarts crumble under pressure.

“I feel their bowling always gives over-par runs and batting performs under par. No big-name batter is seen playing for RCB when they are under pressure. Such teams never win. This is why they have never won the IPL in many years. All young players keep playing down the order and the big-name players go at the top and leave after eating the cake over the cream. If you see, who were the batters batting under pressure – your young Indian batters and Dinesh Karthik,” said Rayudu as quoted by News18.

When there is pressure no big name is ever found standing: Rayudu

During the initial games of RCB in IPL 2024, one glaring aspect that arose from their conduct was the high dependency on Virat Kohli. Kohli has been the leading run-scorer for the team as of now and no other batters have pitched in with a substantial score. This only adds extra pressure on the former RCB captain to deliver persistently as the youngsters fail to step up on the occasion.

“Sixteen years. This is the same story of RCB, when there is pressure, no big name is ever found standing. All youngsters are playing at the back-end and all the big guns bat at the top of the order and they whip off the cream from the cake and that is the reason this team has never won IPL,” Rayudu added.