'For the sake of the Sport…,' Deeply distressed by RCB’s lackluster shows, tennis icon urges BCCI to sell the team to new owner

Originally posted on FirstSportz | By Dhruv Kulkarni | Last updated 4/16/24

Indian tennis icon Mahesh Bhupathi urged the BCCI to sell Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to new owners after their loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). He accused the owners of not caring enough about the team.

In a tweet, Mahesh Bhupathi claimed the BCCI needs to do this for the sake of the sport so that RCB can produce impressive performances. He slammed the current owners, claiming none of them cared enough about the team like other franchise owners.

For the sake of the Sport , the IPL, the fans and even the players i think BCCI needs to enforce 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. #tragic
— Mahesh Bhupathi (@Maheshbhupathi) April 15, 2024

RCB are currently owned by United Spirits Limited, who purchased the team before the start of the 2008 IPL. In the 17 years of their existence, the team has managed no titles.

Their best finish came in 2009, 2011 and 2016, where they finished as runners-up. Since 2016, they have only reached the play-offs thrice, with their best finish being in the 2nd Qualifier in 2021.

Kris Srikkanth claims RCB should now play 11 batters

On April 15th, RCB conceded the highest IPL total of all time against SRH. Four out of their six bowlers conceded 50 plus, with Reece Topley having the third most expensive spell in IPL history.

World Cup winner Kris Srikkanth was unhappy with the result, and criticized every bowler for their poor performance. On his YouTube channel he demanded RCB should let their batters bowl.

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. Kris Srikkanth on his YouTube channel

Srikkanth also commented on how bad he felt for Virat Kohli. He commented how angry Kohli looked when Travis Head, Heinrich Klassen and Abdul Samad were smacking sixes for fun and showed that same anger when he came out to bat.

This article first appeared on FirstSportz and was syndicated with permission.

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