"It's all about Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, and Chris Gayle when I was in the team"- Parthiv Patel slams RCB’s culture during his stint
Former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel slammed the culture within the team, with the legendary trio of Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, and Chris Gayle getting preferential treatment, during his stint there. The 39-year-old had two separate stints at RCB in 2014 and from 2018 to 2020.
While all three were at the peak of their powers in 2014, Gayle was not present during Parthiv's second stopping in 2018, 2019, and 2020.
Speaking on the Cyrus Says Podcast, Parthiv weighed in on his stints with RCB:
"I played for RCB, I've have been there for four years. The team is always about individuals it's not about the team. And then everyone will come out of that team will say that. Because it's all about Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, and Chris Gayle when I was in the team. So they were given the kind of special preference always so there the team culture was not there you can see clearly when they are playing, and that is the reason why they haven't won the trophies. That's the fact."
While Parthiv played 12 matches in the 2014 season, he played a combined 20 games in 2018 and 2019 for RCB.
The franchise missed the playoffs in all three seasons he played games in ( 2014, 2018, and 2019) and qualified for the final four in 2020.
The trio of Kohli, De Villiers and Gayle are RCB's all-time leading run-scorers
Despite RCB's empty IPL trophy cabinet, the trio of Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, and Chris Gayle remain the franchise's top three leading run scorers.
Kohli tops the list with an incredible 8.428 runs at an average of 38.66 and a strike rate of 132.78 in 267 games. De Villiers is second with over 4,500 runs at an average of 41.10 and a strike rate of 158.33, while Gayle follows with 3,420 runs at an average-to-strike rate combination of 43.29 and 154.40.
Despite the individual dominance, RCB's best result with all three in the side remains two finals appearances in 2011 and 2016. The franchise also played the summit clash in 2009 when only Kohli was present from the trio.
In the most recent IPL 2024 season, the former Indian and RCB skipper finished as the tournament's leading run-scorer with 741 runs. However, the side were knocked out of the playoffs in the Eliminator by the Rajasthan Royals (RR).