Once again, Ambati Rayudu, the former Indian cricket player, has courted controversy following his statements about Virat Kohli and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) after the IPL final of 2024.
Rayudu himself emerged as the top scorer of the tournament despite Kohli’s brilliant form where he emphasized that with such consistency on display by the star batter, it actually becomes a burden for him too.
When discussing RCB having a player like Kohli in their team Rayudu explained this during an analysis on Star Sports along with Kevin Pietersen and Mayanti Langer. Conversation:
Rayadu: “It is very difficult to see how young people could be incorporated into squads like this because they always want to perform at his level since he sets very high standards of play as a great and legend who he is.”
Pietersen: “No, it should be good for youngsters…”
Rayadu: “But sometimes you feel if you are trying too hard to become a sportsman like virat kohli who do you know nobody will ever be.”
Mayanti Langer: “But didn’t Patidar step up to the plate?”
Rayadu: “Patidar can only be Patidar not Virat Kohli but I believe RCB management understands that you can’t have 11 Virat Kohlis in your team. You need to have one Virat Kohli and 10 other players being themselves, having their own identities and strengths and weaknesses. Resource-wise. Win instead of expecting someone to win the game in its first season. Let him grow into match winner so give him leeway and time. In my opinion management has its task out there; even Virat Kohli also needs to ease up on standards when nurturing youngsters or letting them develop”
RCB Management According To Rayudu:
In his prior congratulatory message for Shreyas Iyer-led KKR, Rayudu had subtly taken a swipe at RCB where he stressed on how individual awards like the Orange Cap do not necessarily lead to IPL successes, but instead, it is contributions from every player in a team that brings about triumphs.
“That’s how a team wins the IPL. Congratulations to the KKR team for really standing up for stalwarts like Narine, Russell, and Starc, and also contributing their share in the team’s win. We have seen this over the years. It’s not the Orange Cap that wins you the IPL but it is the contributions like 300 runs each (from many players)” remarked Rayudu.
With 741 runs in 15 innings including one century and five fifties averaging over 61 with strike rate above 154, Kohli had an outstanding season individually winning the orange cap. Yet despite these performances; RCB once again failed to clinch the title.
Rayadu’s Critique on RCB Management:
This is not first time Rayadu has criticized RCB. After being eliminated from IPL 2024 in his tweet following RR-Royal Challenger Bangalore match defeat, this pointed out a lot of things as far as management and leadership of RCB are concerned.
To all the RCB fans whose hearts have always gone for this team, I am with you. Several titles that RCB would have won had our management and leadership put team first before individual records. I want you to remember how many wonderful players have been released as well. Force your management by making sure that they are bringing in players who will put the group’s interests before their own. This mega auction can be a fresh new chapter,” Rayudu wrote.
All previous failures of RCB to convert flashes of brilliance into sustained success were exposed by Rayudu’s comments.
