"Questions shouldn’t be raised on her captaincy"- Former Indian cricketer highlights major issue for Smriti Mandhana and RCB in WPL 2023

Former Indian cricketer Reema Malhotra feels Smriti Mandhana's captaincy isn't the main reason for Royal Challengers Bangalore's (RCB) poor start to the WPL 2023 season. RCB are yet to win their first game of the tournament after suffering three losses from as many games.

While some feel that perhaps RCB could have looked at a better captaincy option, Malhotra shed light on how good Mandhana has been as a leader for her domestic side Maharashtra.

In a media interaction arranged by JioCinema and Sports18, here's what WPL expert Reema Malhotra had to say about the main reason for RCB's woes this season:

"I have played against Smriti and she has taken her team Maharashtra to the final. So I think questions shouldn’t be raised on her captaincy. If you don’t use your resources well, that’s where the support staff comes into play. If they don’t tell the captain which player can provide what, then that’s were RCB are falling behind. There are big names in the support staff of every team like Jhulan Goswami for MI and Mithali Raj for Gujarat. But RCB have that name missing."

Malhotra also spoke about how RCB haven't utilized the Indian talent that they have in the squad to their full potential. She added:

"RCB have a number of star names, but they haven’t used the Indian players well. The likes of Kanika Ahuja and Poonam Khemnar bowl consistently in domestic cricket, but you didn’t bowl them. If you do use them, you will always feel like you’re short of options."

Reema Malhotra on reason for Mumbai Indians' success

While RCB are yet to win a game, the Mumbai Indians (MI) are on the rise as they have won three out of three and are at the top of the WPL 2023 points table. Reema Malhotra feels MI were brilliant with their scouting and targeted the right players which helped Harmanpreet Kaur understand the combination better.

On this, Malhotra stated:

"Even before Harmanpreet Kaur got the team, Mumbai Indians seemed to have had done half of their homework already. They are a team which have the most number of quality all-rounders. You have quality leg spinners like Amelia Kerr and such options make life easier for Harmanpreet, who herself can bowl if needed. There are match-winners everywhere as you look at their line-up and hence they aren’t dependent on just 1-2 players."

RCB will be hopeful of breaking their jinx by winning their first game tonight against UP Warriorz.