'Doesn't give confidence' - Aakash Chopra's bold statement on RCB's spin-bowling unit

Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra opened up about the spin-bowling attack of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. He believes that heading into the tournament the spin-bowling won’t give the team confidence.

The fever for the IPL 2024 is on. All the franchises would be on the drawing board to see the permutations and the combinations for the league. The upcoming edition of the tournament will be another opportunity for the Royal Challengers Bangalore to have a crack at the title.

But one of the concerning things for them going into the IPL 2024 will be their bowling attack. They didn’t have a great outing in the auction and it’s fair to say that their bowling lineup looks fragile. Ahead of the auction they released some quality names but couldn’t make up for them in the bidding game.

Although they have few good pacers in the ranks, RCB’s spin bowling attack looks weak. Karn Sharma, who picked up 10 wickets in seven games in IPL 2023, is expected to be the frontline spinner in the team. Whereas Mayank Dagar, Glenn Maxwell, and Will Jacks will be other options.

Aakash Chopra pointed out that Chinnaswamy Stadium is a graveyard for bowlers and with the kind of spinners RCB have in their ranks, they wouldn’t be having much confidence. Speaking in a video posted on his YouTube channel, he explained:

“RCB have Karn Sharma. They used to have Wanindu Hasaranga but they let him go. They took Mayank Dagar and left Shahbaz Ahmed. So they have Karn Sharma, Glenn Maxwell’s off-spin, Will Jacks’ off-spin and Mayank Dagar.

“The Bengaluru ground is a graveyard for bowlers. When you see these three or four names, they have one or two other domestic names as well, it doesn’t give you a lot of confidence.”

I don’t see Bangalore’s spin that robust – Aakash Chopra

Aakash Chopra further pointed out that RCB won’t be able to use their available options to the full extent. The cricketer-turned-commentator added that the Bengaluru-based franchise’s spin-bowling isn’t robust. Elaborating on the same, he said:

“We don’t know how much Maxi will bowl and how much he will get hit. Karn Sharma is a wicket-taker but they play him at times and make him sit out on other occasions. You have taken Mayank Dagar but Shahbaz wasn’t doing a bad job. You won’t play Will Jacks. So I don’t see Bangalore’s spin that robust.”

Getting the best out of the spinners will be one of the biggest challenges for the captain Faf du Plessis in the IPL 2024. With their home stadium in Bangalore being small, the spinners need to be accurate and right on the money. The spinners no doubt will be the difference between them and the title and they would want to ace that department. Royal Challengers Bangalore will play the tournament opener against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on 22nd March at the Chepauk Stadium in Chennai.