"Can't see a single Indian staff member" - Virender Sehwag points out the reason behind RCB's woes in IPL 2024
Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag pointed out a major discrepancy with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) setup as they struggle to get going in IPL 2024. The 104-Test veteran believes the franchise must induct a few Indian support staff members for the players to be able to communicate effectively.
The Royal Challengers are currently languishing at the bottom of the points table, with only one win out of seven matches. The last game against the SunRisers Hyderabad at the Chinnaswamy Stadium saw them concede the highest total in IPL history of 287 runs. Although the home side gave it a shot, they eventually fell short by 25 runs.
Speaking to Cricbuzz, Virender Sehwag reckons RCB players face a comfort level issue and language barrier with Du Plessis as captain. With the majority of the support staff also overseas, the 45-year-old questioned how can players confide in their issues.
Sehwag elaborated:
"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."
"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," he added.
RCB bowlers have been ineffective so far in this season. The match against the SunRisers saw all the bowlers go for at least 10 runs an over, with Reece Topley taking the major share having an economy rate of 17. Following the match against the Mumbai Indians, Du Plessis admitted that the batters need to do the heavy lifting to give themselves a chance.
"All the good players of this franchise leave to go and play for other teams" - Manoj Tiwary on RCB
Former Indian batter Manoj Tiwary dissected the RCB's issue, claiming that lack of continuity and inconsistencies in playing XI are long-standing problems. He stated:
"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."
The Royal Challengers' only win in IPL 2024 has come against the Punjab Kings by four wickets at home.