Virat Kohli revealed that he would not be captaining Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2021. Kohli has been a mainstay for the Bangalore team since 2008. He has been leading the team since 2013. The team may not have won the league yet, they have reached feats under Kohli’s captaincy. Moreover, the kind of aura Kohli creates as a captain around him, it will not be easy to replace. Bangalore will need a strong replacement. They will also try to choose the skipper keeping future in mind.
From RCB core
The most suitable candidate to replace Kohli as captain is probably AB de Villiers. AB de Villiers has enough experience of leading a side and that too at international level. Moreover, as a senior member he is already part of the leading group of RCB. One more aspect that makes de Villiers an easy choice is his relationship with Kohli. After leading the side for such a long time, Kohli must be needing a comfortable place. The friendship between two will make the transition easy for both and Kohli will part of the decision making group too.
If Royal Challengers Bangalore plan for future, they would like to hand over the role to someone fresh and new. The young Devdutt Padikkal is a good candidate therefore. He has the age on his side which means future plans can be made around him. Padikkal may be young but the way he batted in some crunch situations gives glimpse of his maturity. Another option in this case can be Yuzvendra Chahal. He is not particularly young but the 31-year-old is expected to be around for years to follow. His performance with the ball anyway makes him a must taker for RCB games. His bond with Kohli also makes his case strong.
Surprises from Mega Auction
RCB can rope in some skilful player from other franchise during the upcoming mega auction and make him the captain. It can be effective as well because that would change the core and may create a good mix. David Warner can be a good pick for the role. After having a tough run in the first half of IPL 2021, Warner was replaced by Kane Williamson as Sunrisers Hyderabad. Steve Smith is one such candidate who often finds it difficult to get feature in the combination of Delhi Capitals. These two may get released ahead of the auction from respective franchises. Same is applicable for Quinton de Kock from Mumbai Indians. From the Indian options, Suryakumar Yadav looks like a great pick. Mumbai Indians already have too many star players to retain. What if they release SKY? The golden opportunity will open up for Bangalore.
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