Virat Kohli won’t return as RCB captain: Daniel Vettori

Former New Zealand cricketer Daniel Vettori reckoned Virat Kohli won’t make a comeback as the skipper of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022. Back in 2013, the now 33-year-old Kohli took over from Vettori as the Challengers’ skipper and led them until the 2021 edition of the T20 tournament.

Back in 2016, Kohli captained RCB to the final where they lost to David Warmer’s Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the final at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. Prior to the second leg of IPL 2021 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kohli announced that he would be stepping down as their skipper after the conclusion of the league.

Vettori, who has also coached the Bangalore-based team, said that a player shouldn’t look back after relinquishing captaincy irrespective of the format.

Daniel Vettori speaks on Virat Kohli and his role in the RCB

“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 was quoted as saying to ESPNcricinfo.

Prior to the mega auction that took place on February 12 and 13, RCB retained three players, Kohli, Australia’s Glenn Maxwell and fast bowler Mohammed Siraj. AB de Villiers won’t be playing for the Challengers anymore after retiring from all forms of cricket last year.

Vettori, however, felt that Maxwell, Kohli and Faf du Plessis will be a part of the leadership group in the RCB. He also said that Dinesh Karthik will have a big role to play in the Challengers. Karthik led the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in 2018 and 2019 before giving up captaincy midway through the 2020 edition of the championship.

The Challengers are set to start their campaign against Mayank Agarwal’s Punjab Kings (PBKS) on March 27 at the DY Patil Stadium. RCB has been a part of the IPL since the inaugural edition in 2008, but are yet to win the tournament despite playing the final three times.