‘Virat Kohli’s decision to step down had nothing to do with the loss’ – Mike Hesson after RCB’s defeat to KKR in Abu Dhabi

Royal Challengers Bangalore’s head coach Mike Hesson reckoned that Virat Kohli’s decision to step down as RCB’s skipper had nothing to do with the team’s nine-wicket loss against the Kolkata Knight Riders on Monday at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

Prior to the start of the second leg in the UAE, Kohli took the call, but also pledged to play for the Challengers until he retires from the game. Hesson said emotions didn’t get the better of RCB and rather, the team didn’t perform to expectations with the bat.

“No, I don’t think so,” Hesson was quoted as saying in the post-match press conference. After winning the toss and electing to bat first, RCB were shot out for 92 in 19 overs. Hesson said that the RCB batters couldn’t quite assess the conditions and lost wickets at regular intervals.

We didn’t adapt to conditions, says Mike Hesson

“I think it was important to get any form of distraction out of the way early and we spoke about making that announcement as soon as possible so all players were aware of it. It certainly hasn’t had an impact on tonight’s performance.

“We weren’t as sharp as we needed to be with the bat, we didn’t adapt to conditions, we lost wickets in clumps – everything that you can’t do as a batting group. But I’m still confident in this group that we’ll turn it around quickly,” Hesson said.

Hesson also talked about AB de Villiers’ importance in the RCB setup. In Monday’s game, the former South African cricketer didn’t take the keeping gloves and it was KS Bharat, who was given the role behind the stumps.

“I think you saw that AB de Villiers didn’t have the gloves. So, certainly we’ve got to look after AB. He’s a very important player for us and not one that we can risk at the moment behind the stumps,” Hesson added.

After being bowled out for the modest score, RCB had a tough time defending it. The Knights chased the target down with 60 balls to spare after openers Shubman Gill and Venkatesh Iyer scored in their 40s. Despite the loss, RCB stayed at third in the points table.