With less than 3 weeks left for the Indian Premier League 2022 season to get underway, all the eyes are on Royal Challengers Bangalore as they are the only franchise that is yet to name a captain. Even as new teams Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans announced their captain days ahead of the auction, RCB have remained tight-lipped.
Speculation is rife that either Glenn Maxwell or Faf du Plessis will be considered for the role that Virat Kohli quit after the end of the IPL 2021 season. However, fans haven’t given up hope on seeing Kohli return as the captain once again.
The celebrated India batter stressed the need to have some space and manage his workload better when he quit as RCB captain. Speaking to the franchise last month, Kohli reiterated that there was nothing to be surprised about his decision and that he was clear in his mind that he wanted to move on.
Notably, a lot has changed since the last year’s T20 World Cup as Kohli not only quit as T20I captain but was also sacked as ODI captain before he stepped down from the role of the Test captain.
However, former RCB captain Daniel Vettori said Virat Kohli made the right decision by moving on from the role.
“No (Kohli will not return as captain). 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,” Vettori told ESPNCricinfo.
MAXWELL OR DU PLESSIS?
RCB retained Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell and Mohammed Siraj but the addition of former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis has given more options to the management in terms of leadership.
Vettori, who also coached RCB in the past, said the three big names — Kohli, Maxwell and du Plessis will be part of the leadership group.
The former New Zealand spinner also highlighted the presence of veteran Dinesh Karthik, who was bought by RCB at the IPL 2022 auction. Karthik has the experience of leading Kolkata Knight Riders.
“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.
“I think Maxwell is a shorter long term. Three years is a long-term time in the IPL. They will look at Maxwell as the three-year cycle and hopefully he continues to play as he did in the last IPL. They will factor that in that he will be the leader for three years.”
RCB will begin their campaign against Punjab Kings at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai on March 27.