Virat Kohli cannot win the IPL alone for RCB, says Tom Moody

Former Australia cricketer Tom Moody has said Virat Kohli cannot win the IPL singlehandedly for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). The Bengaluru-based outfit is one of the three IPL teams that have been playing in the tournament since the very inaugural season but is yet to win the title.

Virat Kohli has been playing for RCB since the inaugural season as well. RCB have made it to the final three times so far but ended up on the wrong side of the result on each occasion. They last qualified for the final in 2016 when Virat Kohli almost ended their long wait for the IPL title singlehandedly.

The former India skipper 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 the team will need a collective effort to go all the way.

‘Going to take more than Virat Kohli for RCB’ – Tom Moody

Speaking to Star Sports, Moody heaped praise on Virat Kohli as a batsman before saying that he cannot end RCB’s long wait for the title alone. The former Sunrisers Hyderabad coach said that even if Virat Kohli scores heavily, 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 he is going to be in the leading run scorers’ list in this IPL. But it’s going to take more than Virat Kohli for RCB to lift the trophy,” he said.

“He needs a collective effort at RCB for them to be champions this year. It’s not just going to be down to one person and his ability to score hundreds and hundreds of runs,” added Moody.

In the last edition of the IPL, RCB depended heavily on the trio of Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis, and Glenn Maxwell. And while all three of them performed well with the bat, the lack of collective effort saw RCB failing to make it past the league stage.

Speaking further, Moody also said that the bowling will be a big concern for the RCB, saying: “My concern is not RCB scoring runs, it’s RCB restricting the opposition from scoring runs, them having the ability to shut teams down and to take wickets in key moments.”

IPL 2024 is scheduled to be played from March 22. RCB will be in action on the very first day when they take on reigning champions Chennai Super Kings in Chennai.