'It has been pretty difficult for guys to be able to motivate themselves.'
Royal Challengers Bangalore all-rounder Stuart Binny on Thursday admitted that his side did not expect to be out of reckoning so soon in the ongoing tenth edition of the Indian Premier League and conceded that it has been difficult for the players to motivate themselves after their below-par showing in the T20 league.
"We did not expect it could happen to us. We did not get the momentum going in the first half of the tournament and that is what hurt us," Binny told reporters ahead of RCB's match against Kings XI Punjab in Bengaluru, on Friday.
"It has not been easy, to be honest. It is new to the team for struggling in the competition, especially we are second last in the table. Yes, it has been pretty difficult for guys to be able to motivate themselves," he said.
RCB have won just two matches out of 11, with one game being washed out. They are at the bottom of the eight-team league table with just five points.
Asked whether RCB's bowling attack has been a saving grace this season, Binny said the bowlers did a pretty good job but the results did not go their way.
"We have not been getting exactly the scores we were looking for. However, credit must be given to bowling, especially the way we bowled when defending low totals. We needed wickets upfront, we got them, but did not get results our way. On the whole, our bowling has been pretty good this year," he said.
On his bowling in this IPL, Binny said, "There were two roles assigned to me. First role was to use the new ball upfront and second was to squeeze an over or two after six overs and get a new batsman out who had just walked in."
Binny conceded that despite having a couple of decent hits overall it has been a disappointing season for him.
"Look, I had a couple of games where I had a decent hit, but had missed two opportunities not going our way. Yes, it has been disappointing," he said.
Asked what was the idea behind making three to four changes in every game, Binny said it was due to injury issues and the form of the players, while adding that the team did not find the right combination.
IMAGE: The Royal Challengers Bangalore players in a huddle
Photograph: BCCI