'Do not change the captain' - Virender Sehwag defends under-fire RCB captain

Virat Kohli has been facing criticism once again for failing to deliver the IPL title for the Royal Challengers Bangalore. The three-time finalists crashed out of the ongoing IPL 2020 on Friday with a crushing six-wicket loss in the Eliminator against Sunrisers Hyderabad. It was the fifth defeat in a row for Virat Kohli & Co.

The exit has further extended RCB’s long wait for its first-ever IPL title. RCB are one of the only three teams who are playing the tournament from the inaugural season but are yet to win the tournament. Kohli, who is leading the side since 2013, has been in the firing line once again after the latter failure. Former India opener Gautam Gambhir recently lashed out and opined that RCB should sack Kohli as skipper.

Virender Sehwag defends Virat Kohli

While fans, as well as several former cricketers, have been critical of Virat Kohli in the wake of RCB’s latest failure, former India opener Virender Sehwag has thrown his support behind the under-fire skipper. Calling Kohli a fine captain, Sehwag opined that the RCB star is being let down by an unbalanced team.

Sehwag pointed out Kohli’s fine record as captain for Team India as he said that the RCB should try to form a good team instead of firing their captain. Kohli indeed has a brilliant record as captain across formats for Team India.

“A captain is only as good as his team. When Virat Kohli captains India, he is able to deliver the results. He wins matches – ODIs, T20Is Tests. But when he captains RCB, his team is not able to perform,” Sehwag told Cricbuzz.

“It is very important for the captain to have a good team. So, I believe the management should not try and think of changing their captain and rather think of how they can improve this team. Who all should be added to the team to make sure their performance improves?” he added.

Sehwag further criticised RCB’s unsettled batting order, saying that the team is over-reliant on their captain and AB de Villiers. He reckoned that in order to have a settled batting unit, RCB need a good opener along with a decent lower-order batsman. They along with Kohli, AB de Villiers and Devdutt Padikkal can help turn the fortunes of RCB next year.

“Every team has a settled batting order but RCB have never had that. It’s only ABD and Virat, who keep shuffling up and down the order,” Sehwag said.

“With Padikkal coming to the fore, I reckon RCB need to have one more opener and a good lower-order batsman. These five batsmen should be enough to win them matches. The same way, they’d have to trust their Indian fast bowlers. Everyone gets taken to the cleaners. It’s not as if Rabada, Morris and others haven’t been taken for runs,” he added.