Former England captain and now commentator, Michael Vaughan has said that the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) don’t have enough firepower in them to win the Indian Premier League (IPL) trophy this year after they qualified for the playoffs on Monday.
RCB, after winning 7 of their first 10 games, have lost four games in a row and their hard work in the first half of the tournament was just enough for them to secure a position in the top 4 of this edition.
“Can the RCB team win it this year? I’ve said this from the get-go, I don’t think they have got enough. I don’t think they have got enough [firepower] to collectively win it. I’m more than happy to have egg on my face but I just think there’re better teams in the tournament this year,” Vaughan said to Cricbuzz.
Vaughan, however, said that this is the year 2020 and anything is possible but he felt that victory is expecting too much from a team which has lost four consecutive games and has to win three games on the trot.
“Look anything is possible, particularly in 2020, the world’s been turned upside down so who knows what’s gonna happen. Virat Kohli might bat left-handed and win them the game but it’s a tall order.”
The 46-year old stated that RCB just don’t have enough players full of confidence going into playoffs and performing under pressure, coming off after losing four in a row.
“I guess, the one thing in RCB team’s favour is they’ve got no other option, but to play hard and aggressive cricket. You look at today’s game (against Delhi Capitals), they knew they lose but still go through.”
Vaughan also mentioned that RCB skipper needs to play with more aggression. On Monday, apart from Devdutt Padikkal and AB de Villiers’ short stay, none of the other RCB batters showed the aggression they are known for. Kohli, who is on No 4 on the list of most run-scorers with 460 runs, has a strike rate of 122, which is the lowest among the top-five run-getters.
2020 is the year that Virat Kohli became normal. He’s found that there are many other players who have gone through these kinds of struggles. It is not really a massive struggle for Kohli because the numbers are still are over 400 runs at a strike rate of 122 but he is better than that. He is a player that should be striking at over 140.Michael Vaughan, Commentator and Former Cricketer
RCB will now have to wait for their opponent for Friday’s Eliminator in Abu Dhabi, which will depend on the result of Tuesday’s game between Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Mumbai Indians. If SRH win, they go through, if they lose, Kolkata Knight Riders will qualify as the fourth team.
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