Renuka Singh Thakur has revealed that she once considered leaving Royal Challengers Bengaluru after struggling in the Women’s Premier League. The India pacer said her performances and the expectations linked to her Rs 1.50 crore auction price made her early seasons difficult. Across 23 matches in three seasons for RCB, she took 13 wickets at an economy rate of 8.34. Her first campaign was particularly tough, with one wicket in six matches and an economy rate of 9.54.
During that season, Renuka approached captain Smriti Mandhana and said she no longer wanted to play because she could not perform. RCB were losing matches, while Mandhana was also having a difficult campaign, averaging around 18 with the bat. The team failed to progress beyond the first round. Renuka recalled their conversation in an interview with Filmygyan: “I went up to Smriti and told her, ‘Smriti, I don’t want to play anymore because I’m not able to perform.’ She immediately replied, ‘I’m not performing either.’ She said the same thing. I told her, ‘But I’m just not able to do it’,”
The price paid for her at the inaugural WPL auction brought another challenge. Renuka was among the highest-paid players, with RCB securing her for Rs 1.50 crore. She said she had never received that much money before and felt pressure to justify the trust placed in her. The team was also struggling to win, adding to the difficult situation. “I mean, I had never received that kind of money before. There was this added pressure of thinking, ‘A team has trusted me enough to spend so much money on me, but I’m not able to perform.’”
Her 2024 season remained difficult, as she managed only two wickets in 10 matches. She bounced back in the following edition, taking 10 wickets in seven matches. Ahead of the 2026 mega auction, RCB released her, and Gujarat Giants signed her for Rs 60 lakh. The move ended her three-season spell in Bengaluru.
Renuka said RCB’s fan following brought extra pressure, particularly after two seasons that had not gone well. She felt that poor performances made the expectations from supporters harder to handle. “There is a little more pressure at RCB, actually, because the fan following is so massive. I felt a bit of pressure there because two seasons with RCB hadn’t gone well. Obviously, when you don’t perform, you do feel that pressure, especially because of the fans,”
She also made it clear that RCB had a positive team environment. Renuka praised Mandhana for creating that atmosphere and said Gujarat Giants offered a similar setting. She added that a player’s responsibility remains the same at every franchise. “At the end of the day, it depends on how you play and how you interact with people. That matters. Ultimately, whichever team you play for, your job is to perform,” she said. She described the environment at Gujarat as good.
In her first season with Gujarat, Renuka took seven wickets in nine matches. The franchise retained her ahead of the recent auction in Kochi. Her record includes 13 wickets in 23 matches for RCB across three seasons and seven wickets in nine matches for Gujarat in her first campaign. The team
Renuka’s WPL journey has taken her from a difficult start at RCB to a return to form and a new opportunity with Gujarat. She has spoken about the pressure of her auction price and the franchise’s large fan following, while also acknowledging Mandhana’s support and the positive team environments. After being retained by Gujarat, she will look to build on her first season with the franchise. Her recent performances have restored her rhythm, and she will be hoping to carry that form into the upcoming edition and make a bigger impact for the Giants.
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Source: femalecricket.com
