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The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have endured a miserable start to their campaign in the 2023 Women's Premier League (WPL).
RCB are placed dead last in the points table with no wins, having leaked runs in all three of their matches. Bangalore have a net run rate of -2.263 and face an uphill task to commence their playoff push.
Captain Smriti Mandhana, who was the most expensive player in the WPL 2023 auction, has not met expectations this season. She has played a couple of delightful cameos but has been found wanting in various other aspects.
Here are three reasons why RCB skipper Smriti Mandhana has been one of the biggest disappointments in WPL 2023.
#3 RCB's team selection has been bizarre in WPL 2023 thus far
Right from the first game, RCB's team selection has been rather bizarre. Dane van Niekerk has been left out of all three matches so far, while talented players like Shreyanka Patil were also not part of the playing XI in the tournament opener.
Asha Shobana, who has been rated very highly by the team management, was picked against the Delhi Capitals (DC) but was subsequently dropped. Disha Kasat, who enjoyed a stellar domestic season, did not get her favored opening role and was sacrificed after two failures.
RCB seem to be on their way to identifying their ideal playing XI, but that should have happened much earlier. Smriti Mandhana, as the captain of the side, has to assume some responsibility for the same, if not all of it.
#2 Smriti Mandhana's captaincy has been uninspired at best and abysmal at worst
Smriti Mandhana has been terrible with both her field placements and her bowling changes.
RCB have conceded 223 in 20 overs, 159 in 14.2 overs and 201 in 20 overs in their three games thus far. In their first two matches, they picked up a combined three wickets.
Part of that can be chalked down to their limp bowling attack, but Mandhana hasn't done herself any favors. She has allowed the game to drift away from her side, not utilizing her bowlers effectively. The eye test is enough to confirm that.
In the match against DC, Mandhana allowed Meg Lanning to pierce the off-side field, which is her biggest strength while batting, repeatedly. She refused to place a boundary rider even as Lanning found the gaps on a regular basis. Several other field placements have been completely bizarre.
Against the Gujarat Giants (GG), meanwhile, Mandhana turned to Preeti Bose in the 15th over even though the left-arm spinner was clearly having an off-day. The over went for 16 runs as two of RCB's most economical bowlers on the night, Megan Schutt and Heather Knight, sent down only a combined five overs. Her bowling changes in the other games were far from ideal, too.
Even in the batting department, the Bangalore skipper could find some fingers pointed at her. The side's batting order has been rather strange, with Shreyanka being used in the lower order in the previous game despite appearing to be one of the more dynamic in-form batters.
#1 Smriti Mandhana hasn't batted smartly
As RCB's most high-profile batter, Smriti Mandhana is expected to notch up big scores on a regular basis. Three matches into the WPL, though, she hasn't even been able to get the basics right.
The southpaw's weakness against off-spinners is a well-known fact by now, but she has fallen victim to that type of bowling three times on the trot. Her dismissals in the last two games have been particularly inexcusable.
The first came just after RCB lost a few quick wickets in the powerplay as Mandhana danced down the track to try and take on Hayley Matthews. She was caught in the circle, and although it seemed like she would learn her lesson, she attempted an even more ludicrous shot against Ashleigh Gardner in the next game.
Gardner has had Mandhana's number across all forms of cricket, but the Indian left-hander played an ugly hoick across the line that went nowhere. Had she played out the negative match-up and looked to take on the other bowlers, Bangalore might have been able to scale down the Gujarat Giants' total.
Mandhana needs to start showing some application out in the middle. RCB desperately need her to play sizeable innings in WPL 2023.
