"It will continue to be 'E Saala Cup Rehnede'" - Aakash Chopra on RCB's major issues in IPL 2023
Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has claimed that the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) won't be able to win a trophy until they stop being overdependent on a handful of players for getting them all the way to that elusive title.
Chopra feels that among the batters, it was just Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell and captain Faf du Plessis who kept on bailing them out regularly. In the bowling department, he felt apart from Mohammed Siraj, no other player really stepped up.
In a video on his YouTube channel, here's what Aakash Chopra had to say about the importance of the Royal Challengers Bangalore sticking to their Indian players and trying to find more output from them:
"Kohli, Faf, Maxwell, Siraj did really well. But you can't win tournaments with just 4-5 players. If you don't invest in Indian players in the next two seasons, no matter how much you say 'E Saala Cup Namde' (this year the trophy is ours), it will continue to be 'E Saala Cup Rehnede'."
Chopra also hailed RCB's fanbase for sticking by their team despite the trophy drought:
"RCB's fanbase is one of the best. They do have some toxic fans on Twitter and Instagram, but most of their fans are brilliant. Their fanbase is stellar and perhaps that's why they have such a big name and fame despite having not won a trophy."
RCB haven't been able to nail their home conditions well: Aakash Chopra
RCB managed to qualify for the playoffs for the past three seasons. However, Aakash Chopra observed how they performed well only when the tournament was in the UAE or on neutral venues in India. He reckons the team hasn't been able to make the most of the conditions at their home ground, the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
On this, Aakash Chopra stated:
"This team has struggled to qualify whenever the tournament has come back to Bangalore. The last three years, it was in Dubai and then Mumbai where they qualified every single time. This shows that they haven't been able to read their home conditions well yet."
Bangalore were able to win just three out of their seven home games this season and ended up in sixth place on the points table.