The suspense is over. All the ten IPL franchises have finally revealed their player retentions. Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have retained just three players. The first retention is no surprise, as it is none other than Virat Kohli. He will continue with the team he has become synonymous with for a price of ₹21 crore. The other two retentions are Rajat Patidar and Yash Dayal. However, things have reached an interesting stage where it is being rumoured that Kohli might once again lead the franchise come IPL 2025.
Having said that, former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar believes that making Virat Kohli the captain again is not the right thing to do as he is no longer a legendary batter in the shortest format of the game. Manjrekar, despite Kohli’s 700-plus run season earlier this year, mentioned that he does not want to look past the cricketing logic.
“I just have one question from the fans. If instead of Virat Kohli, there was someone else. You just remove Virat Kohli from your mind, and just look at his performance in the IPL, his batting and captaincy performance. Then you think whether it is the right decision to make him the captain. In IPL 2024, he had the strike-rate of 150, before that it was 110-120,” Manjrekar said on Star Sports.
“As a T20 player, Virat Kohli, does he have the same impact? Just because he is Virat Kohli, 95 per cent fans want him to be the captain. But if you just go by his performances, it is not that impressive. This is my problem, I don’t want to get carried away, because of hero worship, I don’t want to get away from cricket logic. As a Test player, I believe Virat Kohli is needed by the team, but I don’t think he is a great and legendary T20 player,” he added.
RCB looking for a new captain
RCB have let go of their former skipper Faf du Plessis and the franchise is in the search of a new captain. Earlier, Kohli had taken over RCB captaincy from Daniel Vettori in 2013. Kohli had also led RCB to the finals during the 2016 edition, but in the summit clash, the franchise suffered a loss against SunRisers Hyderabad. He stepped down from captaincy at the end of IPL 2021.
After being retained by RCB, Kohli in a video message said, “I am excited to share that I’ve been retained by RCB once again for the three-year cycle of the IPL, beginning next year. I am as thrilled as ever.”
“Everyone knows what RCB means to me; it has been a very special relationship over so many years, one that continues to grow stronger. What I’ve experienced playing for RCB is truly special, and I hope the fans and everyone connected to the franchise feel the same way,” he added.
Speaking further, Kohli said, “Obviously, the goal is to win the title at least once in the next cycle and we are going to give our best shot as always and try and make everyone proud of the way we play our cricket.”
“A big shoutout to the fans for your unwavering support over the years. I am really grateful and thankful, and I will see you guys very soon at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium,” he signed off.
