Virat Kohli will never lead RCB again: Daniel Vettori

Virat Kohli was one of the Royal Challengers Bangalore’s mandatory retentions along with pacer Mohammed Siraj and Australian all-rounder, Glenn Maxwell, on November 30, 2021, for IPL 2022. Kohli who had led RCB for nine seasons starting 2013 had shockingly announced that he was going to relinquish captaincy after the conclusion of the 2021 edition and would continue as a player.

Now, Virat’s former RCB skipper as well as New Zealand spin legend Daniel Vettori has come forward and said that the batting megastar will never be leading the franchise again. Giving further clarification on the same, the veteran left-arm spinner has also made it clear that once a captain decides to move on, he should be given the liberty to move on.

Virat Kohli will not be the RCB captain again: Daniel Vettori

“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”, said Vettori as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

“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”, he added.

Under Virat Kohli’s reign, the Bengaluru-based franchise made the playoffs thrice in 2015, 2020, and 2021 editions respectively, and went on to finish as the runners-up in the 2016 season after losing the decider to southern rivals Sunrisers Hyderabad. The Delhi cricketer was adjudged with the Orange Cap for having amassed 973 runs including four centuries which remains the highest individual runs scored in a single edition of the tournament to date.

Meanwhile, the RCB management would be looking at the experienced duo of Dinesh Karthik and Faf du Plessis to succeed the batting icon. The three-time finalists will kick off their IPL 2022 campaign against Punjab Kings at DY Patil Stadium on March 27.