Royal Challengers Bengaluru have not been able to find that one IPL title despite being one of the most popular teams in the Indian Premier League. It seems like the story repeats every year for RCB. Fans get excited before the IPL season and hope Virat Kohli is going to fire them to the IPL title. Then RCB fail to win consistently and their season fizzles out. 

In IPL 2024, it looks like an encore of RCB's previous seasons could take place as RCB have now lost 3 of their 4 matches till now. RCB suffered a deflating 28-run defeat to LSG on Tuesday which again highlighted RCB's core issue in IPL. 

Former India batter Ambati Rayudu feels a title triumph has eluded Royal Challengers Bengaluru since the inception of the IPL because highly-paid international stars have always buckled under pressure, leaving the juniors to do all the heavy lifting.

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Ambati Rayudu blasts RCB senior players

Rayudu, who has won multiple IPL trophies with both Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings, didn't take any names but probably he was hinting towards team's three premier batters -- Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell and Faf du Plessis.

RCB have lost two out of their three IPL home games this season and while Kohli has scored 203 runs at a strike-rate of 140 plus, he hasn't exactly set the stage on fire during Powerplay.

Du Plessis has managed 65 runs in four games while Maxwell has contributed only 31 runs so far in as many games.

"RCB's bowlers always concede over par runs and their batting unit performs under par," Rayudu told Star Sports after RCB lost to LSG on Tuesday.

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"Who are all batting in pressure situations? The young Indian batters and Dinesh Karthik. The big international names, who are supposed to take the pressure, where are they? All are back in the dressing room," Rayudu said.

He was referring Mahipal Lomror, who has come in as Impact Sub in a few games and scored at a strike-rate of 230 plus and Karthik, whose cameo was instrumental in their only win of the season so far against Punjab Kings.

Rayudu termed it as a convenient option for senior batters, who are consuming all the Powerplay overs, where scoring runs is easy with field restrictions in place.

"Sixteen years. This is the same story of RCB, when there is pressure, no big name is ever found standing. All youngsters are playing at the back-end and all the big guns bat at the top of the order and they whip off the cream from the cake and that is the reason this team has never won IPL," said the 38-year-old firebrand batter, who played 55 ODIs and six T20Is for India between 2013 and 2019. 

(with PTI inputs)