"They are now taking only two players just for the sake of taking" - Abhimanyu Mithun on lack of local talent in RCB squad
Former Indian cricketer Abhimanyu Mithun has suggested that Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) need to give more chances to local talent from the current Karnataka cricket team.
RCB is one of the most popular Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises right now. They have a massive fanbase due to the presence of international stars, both Indian and foreign, in their squad.
The star-studded nature of the RCB team dates back to the inception of the IPL in 2008. The likes of Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, Jacques Kallis, Ross Taylor, and Dale Steyn were all part of their core group in the initial stages of the cash-rich league.
Moreover, a total of 10 players from Karnataka were part of the Rahul Dravid-led RCB squad in the inaugural season of the IPL. That count jumped to 17 in the 41-member squad under Anil Kumble in 2009, with the likes of Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey, Sreenath Aravind and Mithun himself joining the Bangalore-based outfit.
However, there were just four local players in the RCB squad when they last played an IPL final (2016) under Virat Kohli's leadership.
This year, the 24-member squad led by Faf du Plessis has only two players from Karnataka — Manoj Bhandage and Vyshak Vijay Kumar. The latter, in fact, was only picked as an injury replacement for Rajat Patidar.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda at the Run-up Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, Abhimanyu Mithun, who played 16 matches for RCB from 2009 to 2013, stated that the United Spirits-owned franchise should scout more players from the state and provide them with the highest level of exposure.
Citing the example of his own time at RCB, Mithun said:
“I don't know if they really want to buy them (local players) because I have seen that whenever we won so many trophies, there weren't so many local players in RCB. In earlier (IPL) days we used to be more than 5-6 players in the squad. Now only two players just for the sake of taking they are taking.”
He added:
“The scouts I don't know… they are taking talent from other states. When a local talent plays for a home franchise, it's emotional and you give the best. I think they should dig in and give more chances to local players.”
“Everyone is talking about how Karnataka cricket is right now and there is good talent. They need to find the good talent and keep them in the loop, give them more opportunities, and build a very good side.”
Vyshak earned his selection thanks to his impressive figures in the last domestic season for Karnataka.
The 26-year-old made his IPL debut against Delhi Capitals at his home ground on April 15 and registered figures of 3 for 20, including the scalps of David Warner, Axar Patel, and Lalit Yadav. It was the best bowling figures recorded by an RCB bowler on their IPL debut.
Mithun has worked with RCB’s rookie player, Vyshak, for the last two years in a bid to transform his bowling and helped him develop the knuckleball. Speaking about Vyshak's performance on his debut, the former Indian cricketer said:
“If you see the effort he put in that day, every ball he was coming really well and bowling his heart out. His hard work has given him a good result. I always told him with this talent he can play for India. We spoke about his abilities and it always gave him confidence.”
After a great start, Vyshak had a tough time against the Chennai Super Kings on Monday, April 17. He conceded 62 runs from four overs and scalped the wicket of Ambati Rayudu.
Mithun believes that RCB bowling coach Adam Griffith will have a huge role to play in backing the youngster and chalking out various plans to make a comeback.
“They have a good bowling coach," he said. "Obviously, he needs to talk to him and prepare a proper plan for everyone. When you play franchise cricket, you will have a separate plan for everyone. If you have the skills, you just need to go and execute. Bowlers will leak runs sometimes, but if they can execute their plan, then they will become successful.”
"When we played, no seniors came to help us" - Abhimanyu Mithun
Abhimanyu Mithun believes that Vyshak Vijay Kumar has received a good amount of support from the people around him while growing up. The 33-year-old stated that this was in stark contrast to his own experiences, as he lacked support from senior players when he started his professional playing career.
He said:
“There are a lot of good people around him (Vyshak). When we played, no seniors came to approach us. No seniors helped us. No one did anything and we learned by ourselves. Yet we had the best domestic side.”
Mithun also requested all the ex-cricketers from Karnataka to support budding cricketers in order to form a strong group at the domestic level.
“There are so many good cricketers but nobody comes forward but for me it comes naturally to help others and want to see them grow," he said. "Whatever I have learnt I just want to share with them and see if it works for them. There are a lot of seniors out there and I want them to come and help youngsters and see Karnataka do well.”
Abhimanyu Mithun played four Tests and five One-Day Internationals for the Indian men’s team from 2010 to 2011. He picked up 543 wickets in his cricket career and was part of Karnataka’s treble-winning sides in the 2013-14 and 2014-15 domestic seasons.
Mithun, who is currently working as a mentor at the Run-up Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, recently played for the Patna Warriors in the Legends Cricket Trophy held in Ghaziabad in March.