NEW DELHI:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru
team management made headlines by keeping four of their star players on the bench during their recent Indian Premier League match against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Monday.
This decision came under scrutiny as the combined value of these players amounted to a staggering Rs 47 crore.
The players in question were
Cameron Green
, Alzarri Joseph,
Glenn Maxwell
, and
Mohammed Siraj
.
Green was acquired from Mumbai Indians for a hefty sum of Rs 17.5 crore, while Joseph was purchased for Rs 11.5 crore. On the other hand, Maxwell and Siraj were retained by the team for Rs 11 crore and Rs 7 crore, respectively.
This surprising move was highlighted by former India opener, Abhinav Mukund, who took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to express his disbelief.
He tweeted, "17.5+11.5+11+7 crore on the bench for RCB."
The match itself was a high-scoring affair, with SRH setting a new record for the highest-ever total in IPL history by scoring 287 for the loss of just three wickets. This was largely due to a brilliant century by
Travis Head
, who scored 102 off just 41 balls, and a powerful 67 from
Heinrich Klaasen
.
Despite a valiant effort by Virat Kohli (42) and Faf du Plessis (62) to give RCB a strong start, and a spectacular knock of 83 off 35 balls by Dinesh Karthik, the team fell short by 25 runs. This match also set a new record for the highest aggregate in a T20 game, with a total of 549 runs scored.
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The decision to bench such high-value players has sparked a debate among cricket fans and analysts, with many questioning the team management's strategy. Some argue that the presence of these players could have made a significant difference in the outcome of the match.
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