Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) are yet to win the Indian Premier League (IPL) trophy despite having some of the best cricketers in their ranks over the years.

With the 16th edition of IPL around the corner, former RCB opener Chris Gayle opened up on the franchise’s title drought, saying most of the players didn’t feel they were part of the set-up during his time with the team.

Gayle mentioned that all the attention were only on three players – himself, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. Hence, it was difficult for other players to find a sense of belonging.

"Sometimes, being one of the main players, being the main man of the franchise, I am always in my own zone, pretty much. What I understand when it comes to the RCB point of view, a lot of players felt left out.

"A lot of players did not feel like they were a part of the franchise. It was like it's only 3 players getting all the attention - myself, Virat and AB. A lot of players pretty much, mentally, they were nowhere within the team. So that's always going to be a challenge to win a title," Gayle told Jio Cinema.

Chris Gayle was associated with RCB from 2011 to 2017, scoring 3420 runs from 91 games at a strike rate of 154.40 with five centuries and 21 fifties.

Recently, RCB said they would permanently retire the jersey numbers of Gayle and AB de Villiers as a mark of respect.

“Jersey numbers 17 and 333 will be retired forever as a tribute to @ABdeVilliers17 and @henrygayle, when we induct the legends of RCB into the Hall of Fame," RCB wrote in a tweet.

In the IPL 2023 season, RCB will be led by Faf du Plessis. The Bangalore-based franchise will open their campaign against Mumbai Indians at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on April 2.