The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) beat Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the tenth match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. Shreyas Iyer’s squad became the first this season to win on their opponent’s soil.
KKR won easily, pursuing a goal of 183. Sunil Narine and Philip Salt started impressively, scoring 85 runs in the powerplay while smashing RCB bowlers all over the field. Later, both Venkatesh and Shreyas Iyer ensured that KKR would comfortably win.
Fans may have expected a tight clash and perhaps heated moments between KKR’s coach, Gautam Gambhir, and Virat Kohli. However, none of these occurred as KKR easily trounced RCB; in the meantime, Gambhir and Kohli exchanged hugs during the first innings pause, driving fans into a frenzy.
Returning to the game, RCB suffered their second defeat in three matches, raising numerous worries, particularly regarding their bowlers’ performance. Alzarri Joseph is one of the players that has underperformed in these three matches.
Having faced continuous challenges with his form the West Indian fast bowler conceded 34 runs in his two overs against KKR. Beyond the struggle with runs he is also failing to pick up wickets leading to uncertainties about his spot in the starting lineup.
On that topic, here are three reasons why RCB should remove Alzarri Joseph in their next IPL 2024 matches.
1. The West Indian bowler has an ordinary IPL record
Alzarri Josephs IPL debut with the Mumbai Indians against SRH in 2019 marked a significant milestone in his career. Stepping in to replace New Zealands Adam Milne Josephs entry into the IPL was nothing short of magical as he astonishingly secured six wickets while conceding only 12 runs in his debut match.
However, the now-RCB bowler has not fared well since then. Joseph has only 21 wickets in 22 IPL appearances, six of which came in his debut match. He also has an extremely bad economy of 9.5.
With this season not going as hoped securing only one wicket in three matches it leaves us wondering about his potential with a new opportunity.
2. Alzarri Joseph’s Unsuitability for M. Chinnaswamy Stadium
Alzarri Joseph struggled in his first two outings at Chinnaswamy Stadium. In their encounter against Punjab Kings, the RCB bowler took a wicket but gave up 43 runs in four overs, while the KKR bats took him all over the park, conceding 34 runs in two overs.
The Chinnaswamy Stadium is famed for its short boundaries and flat pitches, which allow bowlers to be hit all over the field; as a result, variations are required.
The West Indies spinner has terrific pace, but playing at Chinnaswamy requires creativity, something Joseph did not appear to have. He simply bowled with pace and did not use the pitch’s cracks to worry hitters with slow deliveries and off cutters, like Vijaykumar Vyshak did against KKR. With few tricks in his sleeve for the Bangalore stadium, Joseph may find himself out of the starting lineup in the following matches.
3. RCB have some other overseas pacers with good T20 records
RCB’s bowling attack has been under great scrutiny, with game luminaries such as Michael Vaughan declaring it “impossible for RCB to win the IPL with this bowling attack.”
The Royal Challengers also have some strong international players who have competed in T20 leagues all around the world and can replace Alzarri Joseph. Lockie Ferguson, a former Gujarat Titans bowler, is with RCB this year and is the major possibility to replace Joseph, who has underperformed this season.
The team, captained by Faf du Plessis, also includes Reece Topley and Tom Curran. Topley just played one game last season before being ruled out due to injury, whilst Tom Curran has 196 T20 matches under his belt. Now is the moment for RCB to make some changes before things get out of hand.
