‘Fixated on a Narrative’: AB de Villiers Calls Out Commentators For Slamming RCB Bowlers against LSG in IPL 2025

Sreejita Sen

Last updated: May 29, 2025 - 3 min read

RCB will play in the Qualifier 1 against the Punjab Kings tonight.

Former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) player AB de Villiers has taken a dig at the commentators for unnecessarily criticising their bowling efforts during the clash against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025.

“I listened to the commentators last night, and honestly, it got me so angry. They were so negative when we were bowling,” stated de Villiers on his YouTube channel.

AB de Villiers on Commentators’ Remarks

The former South African wicketkeeper-batter protested the commentators’ poor remarks on the Royal Challengers’ bowling unit. He called them out for repeatedly underestimating the calibre of their bowlers and almost finalising on air that they were going to lose that match against LSG.

“They kept saying, ‘RCB’s bowling is under pressure. They don’t look like they’re going to manage it. Once again, an in-form team is starting to lose momentum.’ But what about this – maybe it was just a really good batting wicket, guys? To all you very clever and sharp commentators out there, how about considering the possibility that it was an excellent surface for batting? They went on about how RCB’s bowling unit was once again in poor form. As I watched the match, I thought, sometimes commentators get fixated on a narrative. Yes, RCB have never won a title, but it’s lazy to keep saying, ‘Here we go again’,” said the former RCB batter.

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Moreover, de Villiers emphasised how the track was entirely batting-friendly that day at the Ekana Stadium. He agreed that the RCB bowlers lacked their rhythm sometimes, but also supported the RCB bowlers and pointed out that the match was a high-scoring one due to the flat pitch.

“Rishabh Pant is not going to score 118 off 60-odd balls on a tricky, very difficult pitch. All the LSG batters were fluent out there. Yes, there was some poor bowling at times. But ultimately, one must look at the bigger picture- 227 runs on a wicket that typically doesn’t support such batting suggests it was simply a very good surface. RCB were still in the contest; they weren’t blown away, and they proved that,” he added.

RCB will play Qualifier 1 in IPL 2025

With their six-wicket victory over LSG in that match, the Men in Red secured a place in the IPL 2025 Qualifier 1. They will clash with the table-topper Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Mullanpur tonight. Both of them have finished the league stage with nine wins in 14 matches. However, PBKS (+0.372) have topped the chart due to their better net run rate than RCB (+0.301).