Not Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 1983 World Cup winner calls this player RCB's lucky charm

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) had a wonderful bowling display last night against the Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar tore DC's batting line-up at the beginning of the match. They together got 7 wickets, 4 for Hazlewood and 3 for Kumar.

In one of the first innings, Delhi Capitals were down by 6 wickets, with only 9 runs on the scoreboard. From there, they could manage only 75 runs against all of their ten batters. Despite the crushing victory in the away match, former India cricketer Kris Srikkanth points out one particular bowler, who appears to be the weak link of the team to him.

Former Team India captain is not happy with Romario Shepherd's performance

Kris Srikkanth discussed Romario Shepherd, the pace bowling all-rounder for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru. The West Indies international played a pivotal role behind the team's maiden trophy-winning season in 2025. They played multiple crucial cameos with the bat and delivered some much-needed spells for RCB, with the ball as well in the IPL 2025 season.

Ahead of the ongoing IPL 2026 campaign, RCB retained most of their overseas talents including Romario Shepherd. But, he has been struggling since the start of the 2026 season. Against the Delhi Capitals, when the pacer duo of Hazlewood and Kumar, and the spinner Suyash Sharma bowled brilliantly, Shephard proved costly. In his 2 overs spell, the medium pacer leaked 21 runs in his 2 overs spell without taking a single wicket. Overall, he has struggled with the ball in the ongoing IPL season, averaging 58 at an economy of 14.50.

Srikkanth considers Shephard as the lucky charm of RCB

"They have an amazing overall bowling side. They have just one weak link in Romario Shepherd. I've no idea why RCB are actually playing him. But I feel he's playing because he's a lucky charm for RCB. They won last year and are winning this year with him. So he's there just for the luck factor. Because otherwise, he cannot play in the 11 at all," Srikkanth said in his YouTube channel.

Furthermore, the former batter hailed Bhuvneshwar Kumar for his brilliant spell in the league. Kumar's bowling figures against the Delhi Capitals read, 3/5 in three overs.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar deserves to play for Team India again

Srikkanth stated that after the 2022 T20 World Cup semifinal, Kumar has been bowling consistently well and deserves to be in the national cricket team.

"He was moving it incredibly both ways. Even someone like Stubbs was clueless against him. Bhuvneshwar Kumar didn't bowl well in that one match in the 2022 T20 World Cup semifinal. He has bowled well every match since then," the 1983 World Cup winner said.

"He has one of the best track records in the IPL. I can't believe he is not on the Indian side. He has won you so many matches just in his first spell. Bhuvneshwar Kumar showcased the art of seam and swing bowling," he added.

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