IPL 2019: 3 Reasons why RCB should try AB de Villiers as captain

It has been more than 11 years since the inception of the Indian Premier League (IPL). But one thing that eludes one of the strongest teams in the tournament, the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) is a trophy in their cabinet. Despite having several laurels and records, one of the best batting lineups, one fact that will keep hurting the RCB fans time and again is their inability to win the competition.

The team did get into the finals in 2009, 2011 and 2016. But they only emerged to be the second best on all the three occasions. The RCB management has tried it all, right from hiring some of the best coaches, to get the top international captains to lead the side, but hasn’t found much of success.

Thus far, since the inception of IPL, RCB has had six captains who have led the team. These include the likes of Rahul Dravid, Kevin Pietersen, Anil Kumble, Daniel Vettori, Virat Kohli and Shane Watson. However, it is Virat Kohli who has got the longest run and no other player has led the team in at least half the number of games as the current Indian skipper did.

At the same time, Virat has the worst winning percentage among the captains who led the side in more than 15 matches. He led the side in 96 games till now. But has only managed to win 44 and lost 47 matches. The other five games were either tied or yielded no result. This means that the team has won only 48.38 per cent of the games under his leadership.

Since he started leading the side in 2013, RCB has ended 5th (Out 0f 9), 7th, 3rd and 2nd until 2016. The case has only worsened in the last two years as the team ended 8th and 6th. Despite changing many things, Virat Kohli has been the constant since then and could possibly be one of the reasons for the failure. Hence, this brings a strong contention for a change of leadership and AB de Villiers, of course, is the front-runner to take the job.

Here are three reasons why RCB could be successful under ABD:

1. Scouting talent and picking the right combinations is important

RCB was never as confident of lifting the title as they were before the start of IPL 2018. They ran the slogan of ‘Ee Saala Cup Namade’ before the commencement of the season. Virat Kohli as well seemed to be confident and expressed great trust in the new-look team that was picked. He went on to make public statements that RCB’s bowling was never as strong as it is for that season.

However, when they went onto the field, things turned out to be the complete opposite. He failed to identify the talent, find the right combinations and it was all over by the time RCB found the best XI. Giving Corey Anderson an extended run, not adding enough strength to the middle order are a few examples where Kohli erred. He also made many questionable bowling and fielding changes during the tournament.

For instance, CSK was regarded to be the old-men team and was considered to be one of the weakest. However, a good leader who has identified the right combinations and backed his players ended being successful and went on to lift the trophy. Hence, AB de Villiers, with all the experience that he has got, could be the man who could replicate what CSK did in 2018 for the RCB in 2019.

2. A failure at the auction

One might argue that it is the management and the owners who make decisions at the IPL auction. But, nothing really goes forward without the approval of the skipper. In this regard, Virat Kohli has turned out to be a complete turkey. Be it leaving out Chris Gayle and KL Rahul, or retaining Sarfaraz Khan, it was all quite foolish and annoying. Even the players who were picked weren’t utilised ideally by him in the 2018 season.

Inarguably Virat is the finest batsman of this generation and adds a great value. But him choosing to take extra two crores has definitely put his personal interests above what is beneficial for the team. RCB could have easily retained KL Rahul and got some other good middle-order batsman or an all-rounder had Kohli and the management planned it out well.

Although this is something that might sound highly offensive for the fans, those two crores would definitely make a considerable difference when one looks at the big picture. Someone like Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni or David Warner, who are regarded to be great T20 players and successful captains could have also shelved the extra bucks but opted not to. With a different man at the helm, RCB could possibly rework their auction strategies better and build a more balanced team.

3. Try new to achieve the difference

One might also argue that AB de Villiers hasn’t been as successful leading South Africa in T20Is. However, it is a similar scenario with Kohli who has had a highly successful stint as the Indian skipper but failed to materialise things in the IPL. Hence, AB de Villiers could be given an opportunity to lead the RCB side and only then one would be able to determine what really works out.

Virat has led RCB in six seasons now and the results haven’t been encouraging either. So, there is nothing wrong in trying out ABD for at least a season or two to see what he’s got in the bag. He led the Proteas to some great wins and knows the Indian conditions in and out. This means that there isn’t any unfamiliar territory for him either.

Virat surely does enjoy the added responsibility. But the change that AB de Villiers might bring in could work wonders for the team. Given that these two players share an amazing rapport, there wouldn’t be any ego clashes either and will be similar to what the Kohli-Dhoni duo is for the Indian team. Kohli’s inputs might also help de Villiers and brings in a completely different point of view.

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