Ex-Cricketer Raises Concerns Over RCB Bowling Ahead Of MI Clash: 'Can't Trust Shepherd'

Former Indian cricketer Subramaniam Badrinath has said that if either Josh Hazlewood or Bhuvneshwar Kumar has a bad day with the ball for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, their bowling attack becomes vulnerable and concedes truckloads of runs.

After enjoying a strong start to the season with six victories from their first eight games, Royal Challengers Bengaluru have now suffered consecutive losses.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru have relied on uncapped pacer Rasikh Salam and West Indies all-rounder Romario Shepherd as their fifth and sixth bowling options. While Rasikh has delivered modest returns with an average of 27 and an economy rate of 9.52, Shepherd has struggled, conceding runs at almost 13 an over while averaging 44 with the ball.

“The fifth

and sixth bowling options are a huge weak link for them. If one of Hazlewood, Bhuvneshwar, Krunal, or Suyash has a bad day, they get into trouble and get exposed,” Badrinath said while speaking on his YouTube channel.

“Rasikh Dhar isn’t 100% reliable. And you cannot trust Romario Shepherd, as even one over from him is extremely expensive. He isn’t a reliable No.6 bowler. Shepherd is, anyway, underutilised overall,” Badrinath said.

“But I doubt RCB will make this change and disrupt this lineup as they prefer to have depth in batting to go for their shots throughout the innings,” Badrinath added.

Meanwhile, Badrinath believes Rohit Sharma would turn down any chance to captain the Mumbai Indians in their IPL 2026 clash against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

“MI look a different side when Rohit scores runs. When Rohit gets going, it feels like everyone in MI gets energised. Also, if Hardik and Suryakumar Yadav don’t play, it isn’t right to go back to Rohit Sharma as captain just because no one else is there,” Badrinath said.

Needless to say, Rohit remains the most successful skipper in Mumbai Indians history, having guided the team to all five of their IPL titles during his captaincy stint from 2013 to 2023.