‘If you don't pick a proper team, don't expect miracles from a captain’ – Aakash Chopra on Virat Kohli’s run as RCB skipper

Aakash Chopra, the former Indian cricketer, reckons that a captain is as good as his team while speaking on Virat Kohli’s journey as the skipper of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). Kohli has been a part of the Challengers since the inaugural edition in 2008 and from 2013 onwards, he started leading the side. However, RCB is yet to get their hands on the coveted IPL trophy.

Under Virat, RCB played the IPL final in 2016 against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), but ended up losing the game. In the last couple of seasons, RCB started their campaigns with strings of defeats after which it became an uphill task for them to even qualify for the playoffs.

RCB is a top-heavy batting team, says Aakash Chopra

Chopra feels that churning out mistakes in RCB’s team selections isn’t a difficult job. “He is surely not a successful IPL captain. The team has not done well, it is actually a fact. And it is not one or two years, but many seasons,” Chopra was quoted as saying on his YouTube channel.

“There are manifold reasons for that. First thing is that they don’t pick the correct team. If you see their squad’s strength, you can observe glaring mistakes. You can punch holes in that,” he stated.

Chopra said how the Challengers have mostly focussed on their top-order batting. His words can be comprehended from the fact that RCB has had the likes of Kohli, AB de Villiers, Brendon McCullum and Quinton de Kock. In the last auction, they also picked up Aaron Finch.

“There are no fast bowlers, who will bowl at the death, who will bat at No.5 and No.6. They have never addressed these problems. It is a top-heavy batting team, always a thin bowling lineup, the same Yuzi Chahal, just the one fast bowler, that’s about it,” Chopra quipped.

“If you don’t pick the team properly, don’t expect miracles from a captain,” Chopra added. Kohli is currently the all-time leading run-scorer in the IPL with five centuries to show for his efforts. In 2016, he scored four tons and almost amassed 1,000 runs in a single edition of the tournament.