Virat Kohli and Harbhajan Singh. Photo- Twitter
Virat Kohli and Harbhajan Singh. Photo- Twitter

Is Virat Kohli the reason why RCB (Royal Challengers Bengaluru) haven’t won an IPL title, Harbhajan Singh shared his views on the same during a chat with Sports Yaari YouTube channel.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru is one of four Indian Premier League teams that have yet to win a title. The squad has one of the largest fan following among all teams, yet it is still looking for its first IPL title.

RCB has always had a formidable batting lineup, with players such as Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers, T Dilshan, and many other world-class international batters representing the team. However, the team’s bowling has disappointed them throughout the years.

RCB was at the last spot in IPL 2024 during the mid-stage but made a spirited comeback to win six matches in a row and qualify for the playoffs. Unfortunately, they lost the eliminator match to Rajasthan Royals.

Harbhajan Singh discusses why RCB hasn’t won the IPL yet

Notably, Virat Kohli remains the only player in IPL history to play for the same franchise since the beginning of the Indian Premier League. He is also the leading run-scorer in IPL history and has the most hundreds in the league as well.

Harbhajan Singh reflected on RCB’s performance in the recent season and claimed that he had high expectations from them.

“I had high expectations from them last year. They started playing well in the latter part. The momentum was with them and I felt they had a great chance to go for it. The way they played against CSK in a crucial game in Bangalore was outstanding. But somehow, when it mattered the most, they went on to lose”, Harbhajan said on Sports Yaari.

The former India offspinner argued that the team’s poor bowling was the primary cause for their failure to win the IPL, not Virat Kohli.

He said that the squad released Yuzvendra Chahal despite the bowler’s outstanding performance. He also believes that RCB requires one or two bowlers to complement Mohammed Siraj in the bowling lineup.

“They have to do something, get their bowling stronger. Their batting has always been very good. They always score runs. But the problem is they concede the most no. of runs as well. According to me, they need to get their bowling stronger. They have just one or two bowlers and you can’t win tournaments through just one or two bowlers.

They had Yuzi (Yuzvendra Chahal). He is a brilliant bowler. How did you let go of a bowler like Yuzi? They have (Mohammed) Siraj as well. He wasn’t going through his purple patch this IPL but he picked up his form later and started doing well. But you need more people to bowl with him. You cannot have a top-heavy batting and nothing after that. I think this is the biggest reason (for RCB’s inability to win IPL). It’s always been the same story,” he added.

Harbhajan Singh on Virat Kohli’s RCB captaincy

While speaking on Virat Kohli’s leadership, Harbhajan Singh stated that a captain is as good as his team. He believes Kohli’s inability to win a title as captain is because he did not have a fantastic team at his disposal. The 44-year-old emphasized the importance of selecting the proper players at the auction.

“A captain is as good as a team. For example, we say that Dhoni is a very good captain but you see his team as well. He plans well because he has the players who can execute well. In Virat’s case, it might be that he is planning well but he doesn’t have the bowlers or a No. 7 batter to execute his plan. They need to pick the right players in the auction. If you pick a good team, then you can plan well accordingly. But I think that the captaincy depends on the team,” Harbhajan concluded.

The IPL 2025 super auction will be a great opportunity for RCB to build a strong team for the next years. While Virat Kohli is expected to be retained, the retention of other players has still to be determined.

Also Read: Not Virat Kohli!! RCB To Look For New Captain For IPL 2025? Former IPL Coach Opines