IPL 2020: Gautam Gambhir criticises Virat Kohli's poor captaincy for RCB

Virat Kohli has failed to fire with the bat in the 2020 Indian Premier League, having scored just 15 in the opening two matches. Furthermore, his captaincy has not lived up to the mark, as experts believe he should be wise while choosing his bowlers, especially at the death.

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UAE, First Published Sep 26, 2020, 5:17 PM IST | Last Updated Sep 26, 2020, 5:17 PM IST

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Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), who are yet to win their maiden title in the Indian Premier League (IPL), are off to a mixed start. While they won their opening encounter against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), they fared poorly against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP).

Although they had won their opener against SRH, it was generally owing to some silly mistakes made by the batsmen of the latter. As for RCB's tie against KXIP, their weakness was exposed again. Not just the batsmen, their bowlers, too, failed to execute properly. Meanwhile, Virat Kohli's captaincy was also under the scanner, having failed to make the right calls at the proper phase.

As RCB succumbed to a 97-run defeat to KXIP, Kohli's former India and Delhi teammate, Gautam Gambhir, slammed him for his poor captaincy. He feels that Kohli should be wise in choosing the right bowlers, especially at death.

“I know Shivam Dube bowled really well in his first two overs. Yes, you would be tempted to give him a third over, but not the last over. When KL Rahul is already set and batting on 100+, you are walking on the edge, because that can happen... I would have Navdeep Saini or Dale Steyn bowling the last over, even though Steyn is not the best death bowler. But, I would have given the last over to the best bowler of the team,” Gambhir said during a talk show on ESPNCricinfo.

“You (Virat Kohli) finished off Navdeep Saini in the 17th over. Probably, you could have used Umesh Yadav, who did not have the best of the days. But, Shivam Dube bowling the last over was a bad calculation,” he added.

As for RCB bowlers against KXIP, Dube claimed 2/33 in three overs and was the most successful one, while Yuzvendra Chahal claimed 1/25. Nonetheless, Rahul ensured to target the other bowlers, as he scored an unbeaten 132, while KXIP posted a mammoth 206/3.

Gambhir also blamed Kohli for his poor fielding, as he had dropped Rahul twice, on 83 and 89. Although Gambhir did not blame the long break as the reason for Kohli's rusty performance, he notified that these small things make a difference, especially in the T20s.

“Had KL Rahul got out for 86-89, Kings XI would have scored 185, and chasing that would have been completely different gameplan for RCB. That is how it happened, that is what T20 cricket is. Small mistakes can make a huge difference as well. It was a huge impact, especially from the results point of view,” Gambhir concluded.

RCB would now face defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) on Monday. While RCB are currently in the sixth spot, MI are in the third, as the latter too have had a mixed start to the tournament.