Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has partly attributed the fact that the Royal Challengers Bangalore did not go all the way in the 2020 IPL to captain Virat Kohli’s inability to meet his high standards with the bat. RCB was eliminated from the tournament after losing by six wickets to former champions SunRisers Hyderabad in Abu Dhabi on Friday.
“Looking at the high standards that he sets for himself, maybe I’d say he didn’t meet that and that’s one of the reasons RCB couldn’t pass,” Gavaskar told Star Sports broadcaster.
“… Because when he scores those great runs alongside AB de Villiers, they invariably have great scores.
Kohli had just over 450 runs in 15 games with a strike rate of 121.35 and his team often struggled to get going in the intermissions.
The batting legend noted that the RCB bowling lacked enough firepower to constantly challenge opposition and prevail.
“If anything, their bowling has always been their weak point. Even now, on this particular team, they have an Aaron Finch, who is a good T20 player, young Devdutt Padikkal, who started well and then Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers, then you really got it done, “he added.
Gavaskar also believed that the RCB must find a player who can play the role of runner-up and suggested that Shivam Dube can fit into that role.
“I think where you need to think a bit is to give Shivam Dube a proper role. Dube has come down and Sundar has risen and fallen.
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“If he can be given a role, and told to come out and hit the ball, it could help him. Now he’s confused. If they can get a solid player at No. 5, then it will take the pressure off Villiers and Virat,” Gavaskar commented .
The loss to SRH was RCB’s fifth on the trot, as they lost the plot after a strong start during which they had won seven of 10 matches.
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