‘There are a lot of problems,’ Gautam Gambhir says RCB ‘didn’t deserve to reach playoffs’

Former India batsman Gautam Gambhir has come down hard on the Royal Challengers Bangalore after the team got eliminated from the 2020 Indian Premier League following a defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Abu Dhabi on Friday.

Despite qualifying for the playoffs for the first time since the IPL 2016, RCB faltered in the final stages of the IPL, losing five matches in a row, and due to this, Gambhir reckons RCB never deserved to be in the playoff irrespective of their finish.“Ok, you can defend as much as you want.

You can keep saying ‘You know what, we qualified for the playoffs, we deserve to qualify for the playoffs. Absolutely not. RCB actually never deserved to qualify for the playoffs,” Gambhir said on ESPNCricinfo.“If you see the last 4-5 games, and even that one Super Over actually against Mumbai Indians.

They were very fortunate that Navdeep Saini bowled that last over brilliantly. Otherwise they didn’t have a great season, from the batting point of view and the bowling point of view. “Gambhir, a two-time IPL winner with Kolkata Knight Riders, further added that even though their bowlers performed well, it should be kept in mind where they’re coming from.

The Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, RCB’s home ground, is a small stadium in reference to which Gambhir felt the bowling would obviously be better. But RCB had plenty of issues plaguing them, including its captaincy. “Yes, bowling will look better because you’re not playing at the Chinnaswamy because that’s a graveyard for bowlers, do doubt about it.

But then yes, when there are bigger grounds, when there are wickets which might help the bowler a little bit, it will always feel that you’ve had a good bowling season,” Gambhir pointed out.

“If you have Mohammed Siraj bowling the last two overs, and you’re defending 18 and 19, it’s going to be difficult against any international top-quality batter. There are a lot of problems. The problems start with the management, it starts with the support staff. And then most importantly, the problem starts with the leadership.”