'Play 11 batters. Ask Virat Kohli to bowl. He came out angry': Srikkanth BLASTS RCB

Former India captain Krishnamachari Srikkanth expressed his dismay at the performance of Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) bowlers during a record-breaking IPL 2024 match against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. Kris Srikkanth suggested that even RCB captain Virat Kohli might have fared better with the ball than the six bowlers fielded by the team on Monday, as they conceded a whopping 287 runs— the highest total in IPL history and the second-highest in T20 cricket.

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Kris Srikkanth slams RCB over their performance against SRH

Taking a swipe at RCB's bowling lineup, Kris Srikkanth quipped that the team might as well play all 11 batters, especially when playing at their home ground, the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. For their crucial home game against the formidable SRH, RCB opted to leave out Mohammed Siraj and Glenn Maxwell from the Playing XI. However, none of the six bowlers used by RCB, including overseas pacers Lockie Ferguson and Reece Topley, managed to keep their economy rate below 10 runs per over. In a dubious first for the IPL, RCB had four bowlers who conceded more than 50 runs in their respective spells.

"Reece Topley is getting smashed. Lockie Ferguson was getting smashed. He has not done well in the IPL. He has traveled from Kolkata to Bengaluru. Will Jacks has been their best bowler," Kris Srikkanth said on his YouTube show.

"Better, they play 11 batters. Ask Faf du Plessis to bowl 2 overs. Give Cameron Green 4 overs. I think Virat Kohli wouldn't have conceded this many had he bowled 4 overs. Virat Kohli is a decent bowler. At one stage, I felt very bad for Virat Kohli, who was just watching the balls fly out of the stadium. He came out angry when he walked out to bat. Travis Head was smashing them, Heinrich Klaasen, after that. But Abdul Samad's knock was the final nail in the coffin," he added.

"They dropped Mohammed Siraj, they dropped Glenn Maxwell. Look at that, they dropped Cameron Green, who was bought for Rs 17.5 crore. They have dropped Alzarri Joseph, who was bought for Rs 11.5 crore. Hats off to RCB and their scouting team. I don't blame the players. I will only blame the team management for going in without a plan to the auction," Kris Srikkanth added.

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Interestingly, RCB opted to bench players valued at approximately Rs. 50 crore for their match against SRH, which accounts for half of their total expenditure on acquiring players for IPL 2024. During IPL 2024, RCB have tried and tested at least 20 players from their squad of 25 and have been unable to find a settled playing XI. 

As far as the match between RCB and SRH is concerned, the Faf du Plessis-led side conceded 287 runs in the first innings and then failed to chase down the total by 25 runs. RCB managed to score just 262/7 in 20 overs. Travis Head was named the player of the match for scoring a century.