Paine concerned about Gambhir’s inability to stay calm under pressure
“Their last two series wins out here they had Ravi Shastri who was fantastic,” Paine said.
Former India opener Gautam Gambhir has said that Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain Virat Kohli “needs to take accountability” for his team’s trophy-less run under him for eight years in IPL.
RCB made the exit from this season’s IPL after losing to Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Eliminator by six wickets on Friday. Batting first, Kohli’s men were bundled for a paltry total of 131/7, before Kane Williamson (50 not-out) starred during Hyderabad’s chase in Dubai.
Calling out Kohli for his lack of responsibility, Gambhir even suggested that RCB should bring a change in captaincy in the next edition of the cash-rich tournament.
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“100%, because the problem is about accountability. Eight years into the tournament (without a trophy), eight years is a long time. Tell me any other captain…forget about captain, tell me any other player who would have got eight years and wouldn’t have won the title and would have still continued with it. So, it has to be accountability. A captain needs to take accountability,” said Gambhir as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
“It’s not only about one year, it’s not only about this. I have nothing against Virat Kohli but somewhere down the line, he needs to put his hand up and say, ‘yes, I am responsible. I am accountable’,” he added.
It has been eight years since Kohli was given the baton of RCB. The closest Bangalore ever came to winning the trophy was in 2016 when they lost in the final to Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Meanwhile, Williamson was at his usual best on Friday to help Sunrisers Hyderabad in booking the Qualifier 2 clash with Delhi Capitals in the ongoing season of IPL.
Chasing, Sunrisers Hyderabad faced a few problems at the beginning but Williamson’s (50 not-out of 44 balls) gritty knock at the middle ensured their survival. Holder (24 not-out of 20) played a crucial knock with the bat as well after returning with figures of 3/25 with the ball.
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