Reports of Royal Challengers Bangalore sacking Virat Kohli as captain raise a storm

Sudhir Gupta 19:03 09/09/2018
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  • RCB's Virat Kohli. Image: BCCI.

    IPL side Royal Challengers Bangalore found themselves in the spotlight on Sunday with reports that they are about to sack Virat Kohli as captain for the next season.

    According to reports in India, the RCB management is likely to name retired South Africa international AB de Villiers as skipper following the failure of Kohli to win silverware. Kohli is the second-highest run scorer in IPL history (4948 runs) but under his captaincy since 2013, the team has made it to one final while also finishing last, second last and third last.

    RCB have removed Daniel Vettori as coach and have brought in Gary Kirsten and Ashish Nehra in a new-look coaching structure. Fielding coach Trent Woodhill and bowling coach Andrew McDonald have also been sacked. Therefore, news of Kohli being sacked and the RCB making a fresh start gained credence.

    However, the RCB management issued a denial to an Indian publication – India Today – stating: “We can clarify that the news is incorrect and Virat Kohli is very much the captain of RCB for the next season as well.”

    At the international level as well, Kohli is enjoying a great time as a batsman but his captaincy has not been up to desired levels. Kohli’s Indian team has failed to cross the finish line in Tests and ODIs. India imploded in the 2017 Champions Trophy final, lost the Test series in South Africa earlier in the year and have now lost the Pataudi Trophy in England after looking more than capable of winning some or all of the them.

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