Virat Kohli should have got more involved if the RCB squad was not balanced in previous IPLs: Gautam Gambhir
Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir has opined that Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain Virat Kohli should have got more involved if he felt that the franchise's squad was not balanced in previous editions of the IPL. He made this observation during an interaction on Star Sports.
Gautam Gambhir was asked if he feels that RCB have a more balanced squad in IPL 2020, as has been mentioned by Virat Kohli. The IPL-winning captain with KKR responded that the RCB skipper should have got more involved in team selections if he felt that the squad was not balanced earlier.
"The first thing is that Virat Kohli is the one who has been captaining RCB since 2016. So if the balance was not there earlier, then Virat Kohli should have got more involved."
Gambhir observed that RCB still look to be a team with batting as their strength, but added that the franchise's bowlers would be happy at not having to bowl at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in this year's IPL.
"I still feel that RCB look a little batting-heavy. But one thing that you will see a little different is that the bowlers will be happy because they will not have to play 7 matches at the Chinnaswamy Stadium."
The former Indian captain highlighted that the RCB bowlers were probably at the disadvantage of having to play their home matches at one of the smallest grounds and placid pitches in India. He said that we can expect better performances from them in the UAE.
"You will be playing in Dubai and Abu Dhabi which probably have bigger grounds, wickets are not as flat as Chinnaswamy. It is always difficult to judge the bowlers from Chinnaswamy's point of view."
"India's smallest ground and the flattest wicket is in Chinnaswamy, so bowlers will be happier and you might see a better performance from bowlers like Umesh Yadav and Navdeep Saini."
Gautam Gambhir opined that Chris Morris is a welcome addition in the RCB squad, even though the South African has not played much international cricket recently.
"Chris Morris provides balance to the RCB squad, a quality all-rounder although he has not played much cricket. He can be a finisher as a batsman and can also give you 4 overs and bowl at the death."
The Delhiite stated that RCB have good spinners as well, in Yuzvendra Chahal and Washington Sundar, while adding that the choice of overseas players in their playing XI would be a matter of interest.
"They have Washington Sundar and Yuzvendra Chahal as well but it will have to be seen which 4 overseas players RCB picks in their XI."
Gautam Gambhir on RCB not being patient with their playing XI
Gautam Gambhir pointed out that Virat Kohli being happy with the RCB squad would give him a sense of calmness.
"What Virat Kohli has said, when you are happy with your squad as a captain, you would have already planned which playing XI you want to play. If you are satisfied, then the calmness also comes along. Because there are times that you do not come to know your best XI in the entire tournament and that is why you make a lot of changes."
The 38-year-old observed that the biggest difference in the captaincy styles of Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni is that the latter provides more opportunities to his players to showcase their potential, while RCB tend to make changes too frequently.
"The biggest difference between Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni is that MS Dhoni persists with his players for 6-7 matches. If you see RCB's trend, they make changes very quickly because they have a doubt that their playing XI does not have a proper balance."
Gambhir hoped that RCB learn from their mistakes and persist with their players even if they don't get off to the best of starts.
"So I would want to see from RCB that even if the start is not good, they should persist with their playing XI and give them 6-7 matches. Because then only the players will give you performances and not if you give one or two matches."
While giving the example of Moeen Ali, Gautam Gambhir stated that if the England all-rounder is in the RCB's scheme of things, he should be persisted with even if he doesn't set the stage on fire in the initial matches.
"If they start with Moeen Ali, they should give him 6-7 matches. If he doesn't perform in the beginning, they should not get in another player. So if Virat Kohli has calmness in his mind that this is the most balanced squad, the important thing will be how they perform and how much he persists with this players."
RCB and Virat Kohli have been known to be a little impatient with their players, especially from the overseas contingent. In IPL 2019, they left out Shimron Hetmeyer from their playing XI after a few initial failures, even after having shelled out huge bucks for him at the auction.
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