Former South African player AB de Villiers has adviced his former RCB teammate Virat Kohli to play the role of an anchor in the middle overs. He believes this is how the Royal Challengers Bengaluru side can revive their campaign in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
AB de Villiers addressed the struggle of the RCB team on his YouTube channel. He highlighted the importance of Virat’s batting especially in the middle overs. He mentioned that Kohli should be there on the pitch till 15 overs and this will allow Bengaluru batters to go all out. He even asked RCB captain Faf du Plessis to take more risks in the powerplay.
"Hopefully, he (Virat Kohli) keeps going with his good start because RCB need that glue in the middle overs. We need him to get through the first six (overs), that is ultimately how I want to see him play. Let Faf take more risk upfront, but Virat, I want you to be there over 6-15. That is when RCB is going to fire from all cylinders. Watch out for that," AB de Villiers said on his YouTube channel.
The former RCB batter also analyzed RCB's mixed performances in this season. He said that the team needs a couple of wins to get their momentum back into the tournament and asserted that the team could find a win outside their home ground.
He said "RCB…not a bad start but not great. It is in the middle, and they need a couple of wins. They will be hitting the road and hopefully, they find a good fortune away from home before they come back to the Chinnaswamy."
AB de Villiers with RCB
AB de Villiers was one of the pivotal members of the RCB franchise. He made his IPL debut in 2008 for Delhi Daredevils (now Capitals). De Villiers moved to RCB in 2011 and played for them till 2021. He appeared in 156 matches for RCB and scored 4,491 runs at an average of 41.20. For his contributions to the RCB franchise, he was named in the RCB ‘Hall of Fame’ alongside the Caribbean opener Chris Gayle.
RCB’s struggle in this season
RCB is currently at the eighth spot in the points table with only one win in four matches. RCB has suffered defeat at the hands of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in their last two matches at their home ground of M Chinnaswamy in Bengaluru. RCB’s batting has been dependent on star batter Virat Kohli, he is currently holding the orange cap as the leading run-scorer with 203 runs in 4 matches. Their bowling department has been ordinary as they are missing a spinner in the middle overs and a pacer who can take responsibility with Mohammed Siraj. RCB’s next match is against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) on April 6 in Jaipur.
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