Siddartha Mallya rates Bangalore’s victories a result of team effort
Franchise Director of Royal Challengers Bangalore Siddartha Mallya feels that his team’s success in the current edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is a team effort and not just about Chris Gayle’s heroics.
At one stage of the tournament, Bangalore were struggling big time as they had only three points after five matches but ever since Gayle has arrived, the Royal Challengers have won eight out of their nine encounters. They finished the league stage on top
of the points table and ended with 19 points after 14 matches which include record-breaking seven wins in a row.
He is the leading run scorer of the current event and many cricket analysts believe that Bangalore would not have been the same team without the explosive left handed opener.
However, junior Mallya does not agree with this and thinks that cricket is a team game and each and every member of the playing 11 has to contribute in a team’s victory. He admires Gayle’s performances in the ongoing season but does not want the fans to
ignore other players like Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Zaheer Khan and the skipper Daniel Vettori.
Siddartha said, "I don't think we are a one-man army. Yes, Gayle has turned around the fortunes of the team and has been terrific with the bat so far, but we should not take away anything from other members of the side."
Destructive left hander from the Caribbean played a vital role in Bangalore’s victory in the last league match against Chennai Super Kings but Siddartha feels that his bowlers did a great job as well. He was all praise for the former West Indies captain
but wants the other people to understand that it is completely a team effort and not just about an individual.
"Gayle's 75 wouldn't have made any difference had our bowlers not restricted Chennai to 120-odd runs. The fact that our bowlers restricted them to such a low score is creditable. So, it wouldn't be fair to just give credit to Gayle. He deserves most of the
praise, but there are other guys doing equally well. It has been a good team effort," he added.
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