West Indies cricket legend Brian Lara addressed Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) structural problems after Faf du Plessis’ side suffered four losses in five matches of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.
Apart from their issues in the bowling department, RCB batters have not stepped up to the occasion as other than Virat Kohli, their skipper Faf du Plessis is the only player to have scored more than 100 runs in the IPL so far, proving the state of their batting lineup.
Talking to Star Sports Press Room, Lara compared RCB to Mumbai Indians saying they have to figure out their batting combination as despite having world-class T20 players, they are not scoring many runs.
“MI is getting into a little bit of form with a recent victory. It was great to see Romario Shepherd, the West Indian, do well. I think their timing was very well. RCB is facing more of a structural problem, their form is okay. But I don't think that they have the right team out in the middle,” Lara said.
“I don't think that they have the right batting order. MI knows their batting order. SKY played a bit out of form, he hasn’t scored any runs. I think they're in a better position to really press this rivalry into their favour.”
Lara urged the Bengaluru franchise to trust local talents more as they have lost four matches so far and the room for error is little to none.
“RCB is still searching to find what their best form is, their best team. And a player like Mahipal Lomror, who I think has done everything asked of him, he came as an impact player, done well and still did not play in the match against the Rajasthan Royals. I think they should just shift their attention a lot more to the local talent,” he added.
“A lot of emphasis is placed on the international talent and what they can do and how many matches they can win for RCB. Of course, you’ve got Virat Kohli, but I think they've truly got good local talent, and you cannot win an IPL trophy without performances from the local stars. I’d like to see them included more in critical moments of the game.”