'It's not about sponsorships' - Kevin Pietersen blasts former franchise for below-par IPL
The former England player Kevin Pietersen has shared his views actively about the events that have transpired on the field during the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). From praising the players and the teams for quality performances to criticising the underperformers, Pietersen has been vocal about everything throughout the carnival.
In his latest column for Betway, Kevin Pietersen again talked about a range of things, including the players and the franchises. In the same column, the 42-year-old lambasted the famed franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) after they suffered another league-stage exit following the defeat against Gujarat Titans (GT).
RCB were good in patches in the sixteenth edition of the IPL, but they again failed to churn out consistent performances, which was the main reason for their failure. It has, in fact, been the theme of the RCB, as they have always been over-reliant on the performance of their big-name players.
It’s not that the other players didn’t perform at all in IPL 2023, but the regularity was missing. Consequently, the big three had an extra burden in every game, which is not a good sign for a T20 team.
Kevin Pietersen full of criticism for the Royal Challengers Bangalore
Kevin Pietersen, who has earlier played for Royal Challengers Bangalore, has expressed his disappointment after RCB didn’t manage to reach the playoffs. According to Pietersen, RCB spent too much money on the batters and failed to acquire good bowlers, which was the reason for their mediocre show.
“It doesn't surprise me that RCB haven't qualified for the playoffs. They’ve spent too much capital on batting. I've said it before and I'll keep saying it, batting gets you sponsorships, bowling wins you premierships. And RCB’s bowling has never, ever, ever been good enough,” wrote Kevin in his Betway column.
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Just like every other expert, Pietersen also shed light on the poor bowling returns for the RCB. Kevin wrote that RCB might have a huge fan following, but they should have focused on getting good bowlers to the team.
“They've had all the batters in the world. De Villiers, Kohli, Gayle, du Plessis, Maxwell, they've had everybody. They’re as spectacular as it gets when it comes to the batting lineup, but where are the wickets? At the end of the day, they look great, they have the most followers on social media, but it's not about sponsorships, it's about taking wickets and getting games over the line.”
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