Former Indian cricketer Robin Uthappa recently made a shocking revelation in which he stated that he did not feel like he belonged in RCB even when he was part of the team’s 2009 season. Indian Premier League.
Instead, Uthappa claimed that his loyalty was still there for Bombay Indians even after leaving the franchise after the 2008 IPL season. It may be noted that Robin Uthappa played for Mumbai Indians in the 2008 IPL, the inaugural edition of the tournament.
However, Mumbai released him before the 2009 season and he was transferred to Royal challengers from Bangalore (now Bangalore). He played for RCB for two seasons in 2009 and 2010 and also played some key knocks for the franchise.
Also Read: Jasprit Bumrah’s India captaincy blocked amid Rohit Sharma’s fall in Australia
Robin Uthappa makes shocking revelation about his transfer from MI to RCB
While speaking with journalist Faye D’Souza on a podcast, Robin Uthappa spoke about his transfer from Mumbai Indians to Royal Challengers Bangalore after IPL 2008. Uthappa made a shocking revelation that he did not feel like he belonged in RCB at any point.
The former India batsman always felt his loyalty was with the Mumbai Indians even after leaving the franchise. He further reasoned it by saying that cricketers experienced such transfers for the first time, making it difficult for them to show their loyalty.
“I never felt like I belonged to RCB. All my loyalties were with the Mumbai Indians. And for me, as it was the first time we Indians were playing professional cricket, we didn’t know what it meant to move from one club to another. club, we didn’t know what transfers were outside of what we heard about the EPL,” Uthappa said on the podcast.
‘I don’t want to leave’ – Robin Uthappa to Mumbai Indians management
Uthappa even claimed to have told the Mumbai Indians coach that he did not want to leave the franchise as he was loyal to him. However, the coach did not guarantee him a place in the playing eleven, which made Uthappa reconsider his decision.
“We didn’t know individually what the players would experience. Because I found loyalty with Mumbai Indians and I didn’t want to leave the franchise. I told him, ‘I’m sorry, I don’t want to leave, sir,'” Uthappa recalled. .
“He said, if you don’t leave, I can’t guarantee that you will play any match for Mumbai. And that’s when I felt okay, they didn’t want me at all,” he added.
Robin Uthappa’s numbers for MI and RCB
Robin Uthappa had a good season with the bat for Mumbai Indians in IPL 2008. He scored 320 runs in 14 matches at an average of 35.55 and a strike rate of 114.69. He was Mumbai’s second highest run-getter in the season after Sanath Jayasuriya.
However, his performances dipped considerably in the second season when he played for Royal Challengers Bangalore. He scored only 175 runs in 15 matches at an average of 15.90 and a strike rate of 102.94. In the final of the tournament, they remained unbeaten till the end, but RCB fell just six runs short of the target and faced a heartbreaking defeat.
Robin Uthappa played one more season for RCB in 2010 and this time he had a pretty good run. He scored 374 runs in 16 matches at an average of 31.16 and a brilliant strike rate of 171.55. He also emerged as Royal Challengers Bangalore’s second highest run-scorer of the season after Jacques Kallis.