Praising hazlewood

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Royal Challengers Bengaluru's pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar believes the M Chinnaswamy Stadium is no longer playing like the batting paradise it once was.

Speaking ahead of RCB’s upcoming IPL 2025 clash against Punjab Kings on Friday, the veteran seamer admitted that the Bengaluru surface has shown inconsistent behaviour this season, leaving even home teams like RCB scratching their heads.

“Our preparation is as usual, nothing different. What we do for any opposition on any ground, it is going to be the same. We know the Chinnaswamy is known for batting, but if you look at the wicket, it is not the same as what it used to be. I don’t know the reason, but yes, whether we bowl or bat first, we’ll look at the first few overs and then see how the wicket plays, and then we will decide how to approach things accordingly.”