Former Australian cricketer Tom Moody has said Virat Kohli He cannot win the IPL on his own for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). The Bengaluru-based team is one of the three IPL teams that have been playing in the tournament since the inaugural season, but are yet to win the title.
Virat Kohli has also been playing for RCB since the inaugural season. RCB have reached the final three times so far, but each time they ended up on the wrong side of the result. The last time they qualified for the final was in 2016, when Virat Kohli almost single-handedly ended their long wait for the IPL title.
The former Indian captain had scored a staggering 973 runs with the help of a record four centuries and seven half-centuries, but his superhuman efforts were not enough for RCB to win the title. While RCB will be one of the strong contenders for the title in IPL 2024, Tom Moody believes that the team will need a collective effort to go all the way.
‘I’m going to need more than Virat Kohli for RCB’ – Tom Moody
Speaking to Star Sports, Moody praised Virat Kohli as a batsman before saying that he cannot end RCB’s long wait for the title single-handedly. The former Sunrisers Hyderabad coach said that even if Virat Kohli scores a lot of goals, he will need the support of other players to help RCB win the tournament.
“Virat Kohli – You would never question his quality and class and there is no doubt that he will be in the list of top scorers in this IPL. But it will take more than just Virat Kohli for RCB to lift the trophy.” he said.
“It needs a collective effort in RCB to make them champions this year. “It won’t just depend on one person and his ability to score hundreds and hundreds of runs.” Moody added.
In the latest edition of IPL, RCB relied heavily on the trio of Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell. And while all three performed well with the bat, lack of collective effort meant RCB failed to progress beyond the league stage.
Furthermore, Moody also said that bowling will be a big concern for RCB and said: “My concern is not RCB’s scoring runs, but RCB restricting the opposition from scoring runs, having the ability to close teams and take wickets at key moments.”
IPL 2024 is scheduled to be played from March 22. RCB will be in action on day one when they take on reigning champions Chennai Super Kings in Chennai.