"It's going to take more than Virat Kohli for RCB to lift the trophy" - Tom Moody on Royal Challengers Bangalore's IPL 2024 prospects
Tom Moody has noted that Virat Kohli alone cannot take the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to the IPL 2024 title.
The Bengaluru-based franchise failed to reach the playoffs in IPL 2023. They were overly reliant on Kohli, Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell in the batting department, with their bowling also found wanting on occasions.
While speaking on the Star Sports show 'Game Plan', Moody opined that Kohli would shine with the bat in IPL 2024. However, he added that the former Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper cannot single-handedly win them the title.
"Virat Kohli - you would never question his quality and class, and there is no doubt he is going to be in the leading run scorers' list in this IPL. But it's going to take more than Virat Kohli for RCB to lift the trophy," he said.
The former Australian all-rounder added:
"He needs a collective effort at RCB for them to be champions this year. It's not just going to be down to one person and his ability to score hundreds and hundreds of runs," Moody stated.
Du Plessis (730), Kohli (639) and Maxwell (400) were the Royal Challengers Bangalore's top three run-getters in IPL 2023. Dinesh Karthik (140) and Mahipal Lomror (135) were the only other players to cross the 100-run mark for the three-time finalists.
"It's RCB restricting the opposition from scoring runs" - Tom Moody on his concern for the franchise
![Mohammed Siraj is expected to lead the Royal Challengers Bangalore bowling attack. [P/C: iplt20.com]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/03/35370-17097069725586-1920.jpg?w=500)
Tom Moody acknowledged that Cameron Green's addition will bolster the Royal Challengers Bangalore's batting. However, he pointed out that he is more concerned about their bowling.
"It's always good to have quality players like the ones of Faf du Plessis, Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell and Cameron Green - all box-office players."
"My concern is not RCB scoring runs, it's RCB restricting the opposition from scoring runs, them having the ability to shut teams down and to take wickets in key moments," the former SunRisers Hyderabad head coach added.
Mohammed Siraj (19) was the Faf du Plessis-led side's highest wicket-taker in IPL 2023. The release of Wanindu Hasaranga, Josh Hazlewood and Harshal Patel have potentially weakened their bowling attack.
Although they bought Alzarri Joseph, Lockie Ferguson, Tom Curran and Yash Dayal to strengthen their seam-bowling attack, spin bowling could prove to be their Achilles heel.