Moeen Ali is one of the thirteen players retained by Royal Challengers Bangalore for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League. RCB had one of their worst seasons in IPL history in 2019, where the side finished at the bottom of the table with 11 points. The side was bowled out for merely 70 in their opening game of the season against Chennai Super Kings, and suffered consecutive defeats in their first six matches.
RCB have failed to qualify for the play-offs stage since 2017.
Moeen Ali, who signed for the franchise in 2018, has now talked about the side's disappointing performances in an interview with Hindi newspaper Dainik Jagran.
The English all-rounder stressed that the team cannot be overly dependent on captain Virat Kohli.
"We need to start the tournament well. We haven't been off to a good start on most occasions," Moeen said.
"We need to be brave. We cannot rely solely on Virat Kohli. Other players will have to step up and play the role of match-winners in the side."
Virat Kohli has been the highest run-scorer for the franchise in their last four seasons. While in 2016, RCB reached the final of the IPL where they lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad, the franchise finished 8th, 6th and 8th in the next three seasons respectively.
Moeen Ali is one of the only two foreign players (other being AB De Villiers) who has been retained by Royal Challengers for IPL 2020.
