Vaughan opined that RCB have failed to operate as a team and rely on individual brilliance to rescue them every time.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan has slammed Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s team approach by assembling the best of the individuals but still failing to win an IPL trophy. In the ongoing season, RCB are off to a horrible start with just one win in six matches and suffering at the bottom of the points table.
Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis are the two big pillars of RCB.(AFP)
RCB have played the IPL final thrice under three different captains – Anil Kumble (2009), Daniel Vettori (2011 and Virat Kohli (2016) but they choked under pressure on the big stage. They are known for signing the biggest batting superstars with Kohli playing for them since the inception and later AB de Villiers, Chris Gayle, Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell joined the franchise but they miss the collective effort on the field.
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“What I like about the fact the RCB have never won is it proves to me that team sport is not just about individuals,” Vaughan said on The Ranveer Show on YouTube. “You can go and buy all the biggest individual names and put them into a team but it doesn’t mean you’re going to win and it’s been proven at the RCB.”
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Vaughan opined that RCB have failed to operate as a team and rely on individual brilliance to rescue them every time.
“They’ve they’ve signed some incredible players – AB de Villiers, Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Faf – unbelievable players. But it tells you unless you get the whole team operating and every single play knowing the roles and identifying different roles for different people and it might be that you have to rejig your team slightly just to allow someone else to flourish in a different position I don’t see the RCB s doing that,” he added.
The former England skipper further dissected why RCB’s decision to open with Kohli alongside Du Plessis has not worked for them this season. He also suggested how they can accommodate the former skipper as an opener.
“I think pretty much every opposition when Virat goes out to open they open the bowling with left arm spin. I get that. Because with Virat you put two fields on the onside boundary you might get away with a couple of singles before you know you’ve had one over and three or four (runs) off it – perfect start for the fielding side. I wonder if the RCB see it – ‘Well okay they’re going to open with a left arm spinner we need to open with a left hander and Virat got one off the first but then you’ve got a left hander facing the left arm spin he launches it into the standard couple of time. Then you get to 13 or 15 off the first over,” he said.
Vaughan further asserted that the RCB’s failure to win the trophy indicated how important is for any team to have a work ethic, culture and clear plans for every player.
“I don’t see them trying anything different. I just see them thinking that – it’s probably wrong but again it’s perception – they just seem to think because they’ve got great players in this team, the management thinks well we’re going to win. It proves to me that even though you’ve got great players unless you get the team ethic, culture and you absolutely identify everyone’s roles perfectly, you’re not going to win trophies,” he said.
