Former Indian opener Kris Srikkanth believes Royal Challengers Bengaluru should demote out-of-form Jacob Bethell to the middle order and Virat Kohli should open the innings with in-form Devdutt Padikkal. Bethell, who has replaced his compatriot Phil Salt in RCB’s playing XI, has failed to grab his opportunity, managing only 39 runs in three matches at an average of 13 and a strike rate of 150.
On the other hand, Padikkal has been in top-notch form in the ongoing season. The left-hander has scored 282 runs in eight innings at an average of 40.29 and a strike rate of 188.
Srikkanth said on his YouTube Channel, “Maybe Padikkal should open for them against LSG and Bethell can come in the middle order. RCB’s middle order has also caved in against good bowling. After Padikkal, four to seven have caved in quite a number of times.”
“Salt brought the demolishing factor. Other teams with Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head or Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh bring that demolition factor, which RCB lacks. Salt was the one who brought that demolition structure for them. You need a swashbuckler at the top, which is missing.”
The 1983 World Cup-winning player is optimistic that RCB will qualify for the playoffs. RCB is in third place in the IPL standings with six wins and three losses after nine games.
“They have the best balance in bowling and batting among all teams. That means they can do well on any kind of wicket. RCB will definitely qualify for the playoffs. But whether they make the top two remains a question,” said Srikkanth (via the aforementioned source).
Srikkanth added that RCB’s veteran batter Virat Kohli is going to hold the key against LSG.
“Virat Kohli is the key for RCB in this match. He’s used to playing on wickets like Lucknow. He has to play a long innings until the 15th over. This is a crucial match for LSG, whose bowling is good but batting remains a problem,” he stated.
RCB will take on LSG on Thursday.
