Tennis Legend Writes To BCCI, Wants RCB Sold “For The Sake Of IPL…”

At the M Chinnaswamy Stadium against SunRisers Hyderabad, Faf du Plessis gave up 287 runs in 20 overs, the most in IPL history.

Monday was not a good day to be a Royal Challengers Bengaluru supporter. The Faf du Plessis-led team allowed 287 in 20 overs against SunRisers Hyderabad at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, the most in IPL history. Even with some exciting knocks from Dinesh Karthik, Virat Kohli, and Du Plessis, chasing 288 was always going to be difficult. In the end, RCB lost by a margin of 25 runs and suffered their sixth consecutive defeat in the IPL 2024. RCB is getting farther away from a postseason berth with each loss. Out of ten teams, the team is presently ranked last.

Aside from the Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings, RCB is one of the three teams who have participated in the IPL since 2008 but have not yet taken home the trophy.

The legendary Indian tennis player Mahesh Bhupathi wrote a very touching message on X on Monday, when RCB produced yet another disastrous performance.

“I believe BCCI should force the sale of RCB to a new owner who will care to build a sports franchise the way most of the other teams have done so, for the sake of sport, the IPL, the fans, and even the players.” Mahesh Bhupathi wrote on X, “#tragic.”

Days before, former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan made a statement regarding the team’s inability to perform despite having some outstanding players in their lineup, Bhupathi made his comment.

“The fact that the RCB has never won pleases me because it shows that team sports are about more than just individuals. He stated on The Ranveer Show on YouTube, “You can go out and buy all the biggest individual names and put them into a team, but it doesn’t mean you’re going to win and it’s been proven at the RCB.”

“They have signed several amazing players, including Faf, Glenn Maxwell, Virat Kohli, and AB de Villiers. I don’t see the RCBs doing that, he continued, unless you get the entire team working and every play knowing the roles and identifying different roles for different people. It might also mean that you have to slightly rearrange your team in order to allow someone else to flourish in a different position.