Sanjay Manjrekar and Dale Steyn both feel AB de Villiers should not be the next Royal Challengers Bangalore captain.
Virat Kohli will step down as captain of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain at the end of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 season. Kohli though has said he will continue to play for RCB as a batter after he had announced that he will step down as T20I captain of the Indian men’s cricket team after the ICC T20 World Cup.
“Hello everyone, the whole RCB family, the amazing fans of Bangalore and to all those who have supported us. I have an announcement to make,” Kohli had said in a video uploaded on RCB’s official Twitter handle.
“I spoke to the management this evening, it was something that was in my mind for a while,” Kohli had added.
“This will be my last IPL as captain of RCB. I’ll continue to be an RCB player till I play my last IPL game. I thank all the RCB fans for believing in me and supporting me,” Kohli said.
“I want to be able to be committed to the responsibilities that I am fulfiling and I felt I needed the space to be fresh, to regroup and be absolutely clear in how I want to move forward,” Kohli said.
“It’s been a great journey of nine years, with moments of joy and frustration, happiness and sadness,” he added.
Speculation is rife as to who will take over the reins at the Bengaluru-based franchise, with 37-year-old South African AB de Villiers being touted. Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar though feels ABD may not be the right choice to lead RCB.
“How many years are you going to get out of AB (de Villiers) as captain and player? So I would like to have someone that has at least three years to offer,” Manjrekar told ESPNCricinfo.
Manjrekar though offered three names to take over Kohli as the nwe RCB captain.
“I know Pollard is no spring chicken but he is one guy that I feel has the leadership qualities. You should always spot a person from a team that has established leaders. So I pick Pollard as a contender,” Manjrekar said.
“Suryakumar Yadav could be one from the auction and David Warner is another guy,” he added.
Former South Africa pacer Dale Steyn agreed with Manjrekar that de Villiers is not the right candidate for the job.
“I don’t think AB de Villiers is the right way to go. I think he is a phenomenal player. But he is at the end of his career. I think he is a great leader,” Steyn told ESPNCricinfo.
Steyn though offered up the current Punjab Kings skipper as a possible captain.
“If RCB are going to look at a long-term contender as captain, they should be looking within their own borders. The name I’ve got is an ex-Bangalore player. It’s KL Rahul. I just have a feeling he is going to return back to Bangalore in next year’s auction,” Steyn said.
