Virat Kohli would have declined RCB captaincy to concentrate on batting: Kris Srikkanth

Indian cricket legend Kris Srikkanth believes that Virat Kohli himself would have chosen to not return because the captain of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), prioritising his batting for the upcoming IPL season. Srikkanth additionally lauded RCB’s determination to nominate Rajat Patidar as their new skipper, citing decreased expectations on the 31-year-old as a optimistic issue for his management.

RCB shocked many by saying Patidar as their fourth Indian captain on February 13. Hypothesis had been rife a couple of potential return of Kohli to the management position after stepping down in 2021. Nonetheless, talking on his YouTube channel Cheeky Cheeka, Srikkanth steered that Kohli could have personally opted towards reclaiming the captaincy, making manner for a recent strategy underneath Patidar.

“I believe Virat would have stated no to the captaincy. He would have stated ‘I wish to concentrate on batting’. I believe all this will need to have occurred in session with Virat Kohli,” Srikkanth stated.

“Rajat Patidar is an efficient alternative. He has been doing effectively within the IPL. The nice issues is he won’t have plenty of expectations. Once we appointed Dhoni in 2007 because the T20 World Cup captain, not rather a lot was anticipated of him and the workforce. It’s kind of like that…Expectations from Rajat Patidar as a captain usually are not excessive. He’ll take his personal calls. He’ll seek the advice of Virat Kohli, who will probably be a guiding power,” he added.

In the course of the official announcement occasion in Bengaluru, RCB’s Staff Director Mo Bobat acknowledged Kohli’s management presence inside the franchise, even throughout Faf du Plessis’ captaincy final season. Bobat emphasised that Kohli’s affect extends past a title, as management comes naturally to him.

Having led RCB for 9 seasons from 2013 to 2021, Kohli relinquished the position alongside along with his determination to step down as India’s T20I and ODI captain. Whereas he by no means secured an IPL trophy as captain, his tenure helped construct RCB’s id as a aggressive power within the match.

RCB’s head coach, Andy Flower, additionally spoke about Kohli’s response to the choice, describing the star batter as extremely skilled and supportive of Patidar’s appointment. With Kohli focusing solely on his batting, RCB hopes to see him return to his explosive finest in IPL 2025.