‘It’s not the Orange Cap that wins you the IPL’: Rayudu takes a jibe at Virat Kohli, RCB

Former India batter Ambati Rayudu took a swipe at Virat Kohli and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) while praising 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for backing their senior players.

The Shreyas Iyer-led KKR thrashed Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by eight wickets in a lop-sided final in Chennai on Sunday to win the IPL for the third time. And playing a central role in the team’s victorious campaign in the 17th season were the senior trio of Sunil Narine, Andre Russell and Mitchell Starc.

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While Narine and Russell contributed with bat as well as with ball, the former winning the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award, Starc starred in KKR’s victories over SRH in Qualifier 1 as well as the final with sensational powerplay bursts, winning the Player of the Match award on both occasions.

Former Mumbai Indians (MI) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batter Rayudu credited KKR for backing their seniors, and not relying on an ‘Orange Cap’ alone to win the title.

“Congratulations to the KKR team for really standing up for stalwarts like Narine, Russell and Starc and also contribute their share in the team’s win. That’s how a team wins the IPL. We have seen this over the years.

“It’s not the Orange Cap that wins you the IPL but it is the contributions like 300 runs each,” Rayudu said on Star Sports, the IPL television broadcaster, after KKR’s victory over SRH at Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium.

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Rayudu’s comment appeared to be a veiled jibe at Virat Kohli, who won the ‘Orange Cap’ after finishing with 741 runs in 15 appearances, collecting a century and five fifties along the way. Kohli’s contributions with the bat played an important role in helping RCB sneak into the playoffs with six consecutive victories after losing seven out of their first matches this season.

RCB’s fairytale run, however, came to an end with a four-wicket defeat against Rajasthan Royals in the Eliminator in Ahmedabad last week, meaning Kohli and his franchise remained trophyless after 17 seasons with three runner-up finishes.

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Rayudu also felt Kohli needed to “lower his standards a bit” in order to reduce the pressure on his teammates, while adding that the former India and RCB captain was every bit a stalwart and a legend.

“Virat Kohli is a stalwart and a legend there in the team. He sets so high standards which puts pressure on the youngsters to emulate him. So, Virat needs to lower his standards a bit so that the youngsters can be in a good state of mind in the dressing room,” Rayudu added.

Kohli won the coveted ‘Orange Cap’ for the second time in his career, having previously done so with his record haul of 973 runs — the most by a batter in a single edition of the IPL — back in 2016.