"It exposed their batting" - Tom Moody on RCB missing Rajat Patidar in IPL 2023

Former Australian cricketer Tom Moody believes that Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) suffered a big setback in the ongoing IPL 2023 as Rajat Patidar was ruled out of the tournament due to a heel injury.

The veteran coach suggested that Patidar's absence added extra pressure on the team's big guns like Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell. He pointed out how no batter was able to fill Patidar's shoes, as the side failed to find a suitable No. 3 during their campaign.

Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, Moody said:

"RCB was challenged right from the beginning of the tournament when Patidar was made unavailable, the key figure at number three. It exposed their batting and put an enormous amount of pressure on their big three.

"The absence of Patidar did put a huge amount of pressure on Kohli, Maxwell and Faf, but they absorbed that pressure and played particularly well. But still, you need more than three batters in your top order striking regularly. It also seemed to be a lot of moving chairs, with regards to who was given an opportunity to bat in that free position."

Moody also highlighted how Dinesh Karthik failed to make a significant impact as a finisher this time around. He noted that Bangalore didn't have enough firepower in their middle order, remarking:

"The other aspect of their batting was that they didn't seem to have the power or the finishers down the order at six and seven, which a lot of teams have had. DK [Dinesh Karthik] has done that successfully in the past, but he didn't have a season like he has done in the recent past."

Karthik struggled to get going this season. The keeper-batter had a forgettable tournament, finishing with 140 runs from 13 innings at an average of 11.66.

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"You can't just rely on a handful of individuals to win a tournament" - Tom Moody on RCB's overdependence on few players

Tom Moody went on to state that the Bangalore-based franchise cannot win the IPL if they continue to rely heavily on certain players. He emphasized the importance of every member of the team contributing to the success of the side.

The 57-year-old suggested that while some players delivered for RCB, the team had a number of limitations that they failed to overcome, elaborating:

"You can't just rely on a handful of individuals to win a tournament. It is teams that win tournaments. You get individuals that will win games, it is a classic sort of cliche. That is a perfect example of where RCB are at. They had a few individuals that could step up and blow a game away. But they had too many missing parts."

RCB managed seven wins and as many losses from their 14 outings. They failed to make the cut for the all-important playoffs, finishing sixth in the points table.