IPL 2017: Did everything I could but nothing worked this season, says Royal Challengers Bangalore star Shane Watson

Royal Challengers Bangalore all-rounder Shane Watson has termed the current edition of the Indian Premier League as the worst season of his career. Royal Challengers Bangalore have managed to win just two out of the 13 matches they have played so far to be at the bottom of the eight-team points table. Their performance in this season is in sharp contrast to what they achieved last season. In 2016, the RCB, under the leadership of Virat Kohli, finished as the runners-up after losing to champions Sunrisers Hyderabad in the final. RCB, who have just 5 points so far, will play Delhi Daredevils in their last match on Sunday. And if RCB lose against Delhi, they will equal the worst performance by a team in IPL history. Watson said the players were committed to doing everything possible to end their dismal campaign on a winning note. "The one thing I have realised playing for Royal Challengers the last two years is how incredibly loyal the fans are. Whether that was doing incredibly well last year or this year when we were not doing well, but everywhere we went, obviously here at Chinnaswamy, and other parts around India, the support Royal Challengers get is nothing compared to what I have experienced before. "Even playing for Rajasthan Royals, outside of playing in Jaipur, there was certainly no real support, they support the opposition as it should be. Whereas in Royal Challengers, you go to Kolkata, even though it's a horrendous day for us, there's still RCB chants going around at Eden Gardens, which was just mind-blowing," Watson told espncricinfo.com. Watson, who called time on his international career in March 2016, said not playing enough cricket ahead of the IPL 2017 can also be a reason behind his poor form. "The biggest challenge for me has been not coming off playing international cricket after which you just go into the flow of the IPL, which is obviously an incredibly strong tournament. And it's been a big learning experience for me, how it hasn't worked this year for me or this season and how I can actually learn from this experience so that the next tournament I'm playing, the Caribbean Premier League, I'm going to be better prepared," he said. Watson has scored only 67 runs in seven matches with a paltry average of 11.16. The 35-year-old said he did "everything possible" to perform well this season but nothing worked. "There's been a bit of soul searching this IPL over how things have panned out for me personally and about how I make sure I do it better in the next tournaments that I play to be able to contribute a lot better than I have this year to Royal Challengers because I know I've been incredibly fortunate to be able to play for another great franchise and last year was obviously an incredible year. But this year, for me personally, it hasn't been good at all but also for the franchise - things haven't gone exactly to plan at all and it's been very disappointing for everyone," he added.