Ravichandran Ashwin has hinted at the possibility of Virat Kohli being made skipper again by Royal Challengers Bangalore for the next Indian Premier League season.
RCB appointed South Africa’s former skipper Faf du Plessis as their skipper for the 2022 edition of the tournament, the first time in the last eight seasons they will not have Kohli at the helm. The former Indian and RCB captain had given up captaincy of the franchise at the end of the last season, while also announcing his decision to step aside from T20I captaincy for the national side. He was later removed as ODI captain and also gave up Test captaincy earlier this year to focus more on his batting, having gone through a poor run of form.
Fans were curious to see who the franchise would replace Kohli with as the leader, and a hint came soon after in the mega auction when they bought du Plessis for a whopping amount from Chennai Super Kings.
He was appointed the skipper in an event in Bengaluru on March 12, but at 37, du Plesiss is likely at the fag end of his Premier League career, and RCB might have to search for other options to lead the side by next year.
“Faf is more like towards the end of his IPL career. Maybe, he has two-three years left with him. And they have made him the captain, which is quite a good decision. He brings in a lot of experience and in fact, he has himself said that we can see a bit of MS Dhoni’s touch in his captaincy skills,”
said Ashwin on his official YouTube channel.
“I feel that since Virat Kohli has undergone a lot of stress as a captain in the last few years, this year will be like a break for him and they might appoint him as a captain next year is my guess,”
he added.
Virat returning as captain seemed a possibility even close to March 12, the date when RCB promised to reveal their new captain. In the event in Bengaluru, fans were asked who they would like to see RCB before the announcement, and the overwhelming response was the name of Kohli, who has a huge fan following in Bengaluru after it became his adopted home in the IPL over the years. Kohli has remained a RCB faithful right from the first edition of the IPl and is one of the rare players to play for the same franchise in each year of the Indian Premier League.
Du Plessis, meanwhile, comes off the back of brilliant seasons with the bat for CSK. While the franchise tried to win him back in the auction, RCB was adamant about getting the South African on board and eventually succeeded in their bid. A captain with a proven record, du Plessis will likely open the batting for RCB, a role he succeeded in for CSK. Although his reputation as an international batter lies as a middle-order batter, in the IPL he has nailed the opening slot.
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It remains to be seen if RCB would opt to partner him with Kohli at the top. The former skipper had opened the batting for RCB last year, and notably appeared more at ease in the role than in his usual No.3 slot. Ashwin believes that RCB might use this season to ease themselves into the league after the mega auction, and could go back to Kohli next year when they decide on their skipper.
