“Virat Kohli will not captain RCB again” – Daniel Vettori
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Former Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper and New Zealand spin great Daniel Vettori explained to ESPNCricinfo the reasons why it is right not to hand the captaincy responsibilities to Kohli again.
Before the second half of IPL 2021, Kohli had shockingly announced his stepping down from the RCB captaincy after the end of the season but will continue as a player. Kohli had led the franchise for 9 seasons. The RCB franchise tried their best at the auctions to have someone like Shreyas Iyer in their team, he was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders. But now, players like Glenn Maxwell and Faf du Plessis are the only experienced options they have. The veteran left-arm spinner also believes that a captain should have the independence to move on.
“No [Virat Kohli will not be the RCB captain again]. I think it is as simple as that. I don’t think that ever works, let alone in franchise cricket or international cricket. Once the captain is moved on, the right thing is for him to move on,” he said.
Daniel Vettori believed in the abilities of Du Plessis, Dinesh Karthik, Maxwell and Kohli. Since Maxwell will not be available in the first few games, Du Plessis can perform well the duties of a captain. He said further:
“I think they will look at Kohli, Maxwell and Du Plessis as the leadership group and even Dinesh Karthik. I think Faf will step in for Maxwell. But if they win the first three games, maybe they will continue on with him.”
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Glenn Maxwell can be the long-term captain for RCB: Daniel Vettori
The former Kiwi captain thinks Maxwell’s experiences as a T20 captain will help him lead the RCB team in the long run. The Australian has captained the Melbourne Stars. Daniel Vettori added:
“I think Maxwell is a shorter long term. Three years is a long-term in the IPL. They will look at Maxwell as the three-year cycle and hopefully he continues to play as he did in the last IPL. They will factor that in that he will be the leader for three years.”
Under Kohli, the RCB franchise had finished as runners-up in 2016 losing to Sunrisers Hyderabad. In that season, Kohli also made a record by becoming the first player to score 973 runs, including 4 centuries in a single edition. He also appeared in the playoffs three times, in 2015, 2020 and 2021 editions.
IPL will start on 26 March with the match between the Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders. The Royal Challengers will play their first match on 27th March with Punjab Kings at the DY Patil Stadium.
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Gouri Das
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