Can't expect big shots from AB de Villiers every time: Saba Karim slams RCB's strategy against SRH

Former Indian cricketer Saba Karim wasn't impressed with Royal Challengers Bangalore's (RCB) decision to send AB de Villiers to bat at No.6 against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).

RCB failed to chase down a modest total of 142 despite De Villiers being present until the very end. Saba Karim feels the South African simply had too much to do and should have batted higher up the order.

Speaking on the YouTube channel 'Khelneeti', here is what Saba Karim had to say about AB de Villiers.

"I don't think AB de Villiers' quality is going down. The challenge for bowlers is how to stop him. Team analysts have found weaknesses in his game and they feed it to the bowlers. Now it is up to the bowlers to come up and execute. AB de Villiers also needs time to play such big shots consistently. If you expect him to play such big shots in every game by facing so few deliveries then that's very difficult," Saba Karim opined.

Saba Karim on RCB's inconsistency

Despite having momentum on their side, RCB lost to bottom dwellers SRH. This inconsistency in finishing off games is what Saba Karim feels could cost them in the IPL 2021 playoffs. He was also baffled to see the use of Australian all-rounder Dan Christian at No.3 despite KS Bharat being a decent contributor at the same slot.

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"There should be consistency in the performance if you are a big team. The RCB team looked quite settled to me until now. They had found the right combinations in their bowling. Your best batsmen should play the maximum balls. Your best batsmen also need time to settle in however flexible they are. Very unusual strategy to send Christian at No.3. It's important for them to come with a settled team in playoffs," Saba Karim concluded.