Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], March 6 (ANI): Former Indian pacer Venkatesh Prasad questioned Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and their lack of investment in local talent over the years, asking they are building a brand or truly focussed on winning the Indian Premier League (IPL).

RCB will kickstart their campaign against defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on March 22 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. In their current set-up, RCB features two talents from Karnataka, all-rounder Manoj Bhandage, who has not been given a game since being signed by the franchise in 2023 and Indian batter Devdutt Padikkal, who enjoyed two strong seasons with the franchise in 2020 and 2021 before two decent seasons with Rajasthan Royals (RR) and a sub-par season with Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) last year with just 38 runs in seven matches. He was brought back by RCB in the auction last year for Rs 2 crores, his base price.

Over the years, several Karnataka stars like Anil Kumble, Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey, KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal etc have played for the franchise. Despite their success, which has come in varying degrees, the franchise has primarily rode on the success of their star batter Virat Kohli and several foreign stars like Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers, Faf Du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell, unlike a lot of other IPL franchises who still have/had a local player as their face.

Speaking on JioHotstar about RCB's management, Venkatesh said, 'How a team is managed makes all the difference. Other teams are putting faith in local talent, so why is not RCB doing the same? Are they building a brand, or are they truly focused on winning the IPL? They need to get the best out of their players, which has not happened so far.'

Former Australian pacer Brett Lee also talked about the franchise's memorable run last season, which saw them reach playoffs after winning just one in their first eight games and following it with six successive wins.

Lee said on JioHotstar, 'Everyone wrote them off at the start, but I picked them to win. People laughed at me, but you saw how far they came.'

Even former Indian opener Aakash Chopra said that while at one point, chances of qualification were 'as good as zero', RCB hoped and from that hope, 'belief was born'.

'They fought their way back, and that was reflected in their performances. Some seasons leave you wondering whether the glass was half full or half empty. At first, it felt empty--like there was no hope. But by the end, it was overflowing with emotions. They may not have won the trophy, but they will look back at this season with immense pride,' he concluded. (ANI)