'Kohli must be inspired by Rohit's T20WC campaign' - Mohammad Kaif has his say on RCB captaincy episode

Virat Kohli decided to step down as Royal Challengers Bangalore (now Bengaluru) captain ahead of the IPL 2022 mega-auction. The franchise signed Faf du Plessis in the auction and handed him the baton. The franchise managed to qualify for the playoffs on two out of three occasions but their hunt for the title remains. Ahead of the IPL 2025 mega-auction, the franchise released du Plessis, with the captaincy position left vacant once again before a mega-auction.

As per reports, the franchise has held a couple of meetings with Kohli to take over the captaincy once again. The star India batter is also interested to take the charge as per reports but a decision is likely to be taken after the auction. The franchise could target the likes of KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer, however, if they fail to grab any captaincy candidate, then Kohli is likely to return as captain.

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Meanwhile, speaking on the same, former cricketer Mohammad Kaif has mentioned that if the 35-year-old is willing to do take up captaincy again in the IPL, he should be given a chance. Kaif believes Kohli might have drawn inspiration from India captain Rohit Sharma after he led the team to a title in T20 World Cup 2024.

“Earlier he refused [to take the captaincy]. He asked the management to appoint someone new. He might have told them that we are playing well but we are not winning trophies or becoming champions and so, you appoint someone else. Now, if he is willing to take back captaincy [he should],” Kaif told on Star Sports.

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“He saw Rohit Sharma lift the T20 World Cup, he spent time with him, and maybe he’s inspired as well. With age, you get better and if Virat thinks that he has learned something during the World Cup and from Rohit Sharma and wants to be a captain again, why not? If he wants to do captaincy again, he should,” he added.

Notably, RCB have retained only three players ahead of the auction, with Kohli retained for INR 21 crore, Rajat Patidar for INR 11 crore and Yash Dayal for INR 5 crore.