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Cricket Players'We don't play the blame game in our franchise': Sangakkara after Rajasthan Royals' loss to Royal Challengers Bangalore
“We don't play the blame game in our franchise. We win together, we lose together,” Sangakarra said at the post-match media conference.
Former Sri Lanka captain and current Rajasthan Royals Director of Cricket Kumar Sangakkara said they won't indulge in playing the 'blame game' within their franchise after RR's chances of making to the IPL 2021 playoffs took a heavy blow with the seven-wicket loss to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Dubai on Wednesday.
Desperate for a win, RR got off to a terrific start through Evin Lewis and Yashasvi Jaiswal but after their dismissal the middle-order came a cropper again as they were restricted to 149.
In reply, RCB chased that down quite comfortably in the 18th over with seven wickets in the bank to take a step towards qualifying for the payoffs. RR, on the other hand, were nearly knocked out of the tournament.
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“We don't play the blame game in our franchise. We win together, we lose together,” Sangakarra said at the post-match media conference. "We haven't done well enough, haven't been smart enough with our batting and we all know that. The players know it. So, we'll try to keep things simple, focus on training and how we plan to execute what we've spoken about," he added.
The Sri Lanka legend said there is already a lot of pressure on the cricketers and he wouldn't like to add to that.
"We always keep things simple. There's a lot of pressure on players that they put on themselves. In the game itself, there's a lot of pressure," Sangakkara added.
For Sangakkara, his job is to guide the team rather than putting more burden on them.
"My job is not to add to that but guide them (on) how to deal with it and come up with their best performances," he said.
VIDEO: How RCB beat RR by 7 wickets in Dubai
To manage highs and lows require different perspective feels Sangakkara.
"There's many ways that you manage the highs of wins and disappointments of a loss and be able to keep yourself calm and focus on what needs to be done.
"At times like this, it's very easy to be dejected and break up into little groups where murmurings can start but our group has held together really well," added the Sri Lankan batting great.
The former Sri Lankan wicket-keeper also praised skipper Sanju Samson, saying he will be selected in the national team for a longer run.
"Yeah, we do have one-on-one chats on a lot of things. And when we do talk cricket, India aspirations come at a time when the IPL is over. And our chats are very-much IPL-focused. Not just his (Samson's) batting but about captaincy, about the team and how we are playing," Sangakkara added.
Samson, who has scored 452 runs this season, is the leading run-getter for his franchise.
"He (Samson) is a very good player, a very special player. He has done exceptionally well for us this season. And I am sure that he has aspirations to play for India and, at some point, I think he will be selected for a longer run. He is good and ready at any-time that he is picked,” Sangakkara signed off.
(With PTI inputs)
