Parthiv Patel: Kohli, De Villiers have been tentative in their starts

Parthiv Patel

Winless Royal Challengers Bangalore may be in deep trouble but the man with the boyish face, Parthiv Patel, who is also the team's highest run-getter so far, still believes in the players. That said, he was candid enough to state that the likes of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers have been a touch too anxious and hence not done as yet what they normally do with bat in hand.

Asked if he thought the duo looked tentative, Parthiv said: "I think everyone, once the tournament starts, wants to get runs initially and come into form. But [yes] they were quite tentative to start with and that's the reason they got out as well [against RR]. I thought Virat was batting well against Mumbai and AB started well in Chennai but he did get out."

And wasn't it unsettling to have three different opening partners in the first four games? "Personally, I have played for so many teams and with so many openers, it doesn't matter much to me. I know what my role is and it doesn't worry me. The other guys [his partners], before the game starts everyone knows their role. It's not like suddenly we decide that someone is opening," said Parthiv.

The mood may be down but the will isn't lost, he insisted. "We can't shy away from saying that we are under the pump. We can't sit here and say we are 0-4 and we are happy about it. But we are positive about the team. We have always spoken in our dressing room about the kind of team we have. We don't deserve to have lost four games in a row. The Mumbai game was tight and even the last one [against RR], we didn't field well, bat well or bowl well and still the game went almost to the last ball. If we play to our potential, we will get that momentum which is required in this tournament," said Parthiv.

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