NEW DELHI: Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have announced just three retentions ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction, and as reported by TimesofIndia.com, Virat Kohli is set to return as the franchise’s captain for the upcoming season. Kohli previously led RCB from 2013 to 2021, during which the team reached one final, in 2016.
During Kohli’s previous tenure as captain from 2013 to 2021, RCB reached the finals once in 2016.
Following Kohli’s decision to step down in 2022, Faf du Plessis took over the leadership role. Now, with du Plessis not being retained, speculation suggests Kohli’s return to the captain’s position.
Nevertheless, former India cricketer and commentator Sanjay Manjrekar has expressed reservations about this potential development.
Manjrekar challenged RCB supporters to evaluate the decision objectively, setting aside Kohli’s reputation and celebrity status.
In his assessment, Manjrekar expressed doubts about Kohli’s current prowess in T20 cricket.
“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,” he added.
“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 the cricket truth,” said Manjrekar on Star Sports.
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Whilst acknowledging Kohli’s importance in Test cricket despite his current form, Manjrekar said: “As a Test player, Virat is out of form but India still need him. In T20s, I don’t think so Virat is a great T20 player in compare to what he was 5-6 or 7-8 years ago.”
