Former Indian player Reema Malhotra feels Smriti Mandhana’s captaincy isn’t the actual reason for Royal Challengers Bangalore’s (RCB) rather forgettable start to the WPL 2023 season. RCB has lost all 4 games so far and they are yet to win their first game of the tournament as well.

While some say that perhaps RCB could have appointed a better captain, Malhotra opined on how good Mandhana has been as a captain for her domestic side Maharashtra. In a media interaction arranged by JioCinema and Sports18, here’s what the veteran Reema Malhotra said about the main reason for RCB’s woes this season:

“I have played against Smriti and she has taken her team Maharashtra to the final. So I think questions shouldn’t be raised on her captaincy. If you don’t use your resources well, that’s where the support staff comes into play. If they don’t tell the captain which player can provide what, then that’s were RCB are falling behind. There are big names in the support staff of every team like Jhulan Goswami for MI and Mithali Raj for Gujarat. But RCB have that name missing.”

Reema Malhotra also shared how RCB haven’t utilized the Indian talent so far that they have in the squad as well. She added:

“RCB have a number of star names, but they haven’t used the Indian players well. The likes of Kanika Ahuja and Poonam Khemnar bowl consistently in domestic cricket, but you didn’t bowl them. If you do use them, you will always feel like you’re short of options.”

“They are a team which have the most number of quality all-rounders” – Reema Malhotra

While RCB are yet to win a game, the Mumbai Indians (MI) have won every game they have played so far and they are at the top of the WPL 2023 points table as well. Reema Malhotra feels that Mumbai Indians were brilliant with their scouting and targeted the right players which helped Harmanpreet Kaur to do well with the team as well.

Malhotra again stated: “Even before Harmanpreet Kaur got the team, Mumbai Indians seemed to have had done half of their homework already. They are a team which have the most number of quality all-rounders. You have quality leg spinners like Amelia Kerr and such options make life easier for Harmanpreet, who herself can bowl if needed. There are match-winners everywhere as you look at their line-up and hence they aren’t dependent on just 1-2 players.”

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