"BCCI needs to enforce the sale of RCB to a new owner" - Mahesh Bhupathi lashes out at Bengaluru for another lackadaisical show in IPL 2024
Indian tennis legend Mahesh Bhupathi has hit out at Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) after the franchise came up with an extremely shoddy bowling effort against SunRisers Hyderabad in match 30 of IPL 2024 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Monday, April 15.
SRH beat RCB by 25 runs in a high-scoring IPL clash on Monday. Sent into bat by Bengaluru, Hyderabad posted a record 287-3, breaking their previous mark for the highest IPL total (277-3), which they had set against Mumbai Indians earlier in the tournament.
Reacting to RCB's forgettable bowling performance against SunRisers Hyderabad, former India tennis player Bhupathi tweeted a rather scathing remark:
"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."
Opener Travis Head top-scored for SRH with 102 off 41, while Heinrich Klaasen contributed 67 off 31. Abdul Samad (37* off 10) and Aidem Markram (32* off 17) also chipped in with blazing cameos as Hyderabad fell just 13 short of the 300-run mark.
For RCB, left-arm pacer Reece Topley went for 68 runs in four overs, while Vijaykumar Vyshak had figures of 0-64. The other main pacers, Yash Dayal and Lockie Ferguson, finished with 0-51 and 2-52 respectively.
In their chase, Royal Challengers Bengaluru went on the attack from the word go. However, despite a commendable effort, they finished well short of Hyderabad's total, posting 262-7.
Skipper Faf du Plessis contributed 62 off 28; veteran keeper-batter Dinesh Karthik top-scored with 83 off 35, while Virat Kohli chipped in with 42 off 20 to ensure that Bengaluru went down fighting.
RCB are having a horror run in IPL 2024
After the women's Bengaluru team won WPL 2024, there were high hopes from the men's squad heading into IPL 2024.
However, Royal Challengers Bengaluru are having to endure a horrible season. They are languishing in last place in the points table, with just one win from seven games.
Bengaluru began their IPL 2024 campaign with a six-run loss to defending champions Chennai Super Kings in Chepauk. They beat Punjab Kings by four wickets in their second match at home, which remains their only win in IPL 2024 so far.
Before going down to SunRisers Hyderabad on Monday, Royal Challengers Bengaluru had suffered defeats against Kolkata Knight Riders, Lucknow Super Giants, Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians.