Virat Kohli and RCB captaincy: Stepping down will do good to both him and the side One can expect flashes in the pan from such outfits instead of consistent and steady performances. It will not be an exaggeration if the 30-year-old Virat Kohli is called the Midas of Indian cricket. The ace batsman has not just dwarfed many batting records that his predecessors, including the great Sachin Tendulkar, had registered over the years but also some of the top captaincy records. It is not often seen in India that a player is excelling both as a captain and a batsman at the same time. Captaincy is a massive responsibility and it is assumed that people with strong shoulders can only carry it. However, when it comes to the Indian Premier League, Kohli’s captaincy becomes a completely different story. Unlike MS Dhoni who has succeeded as the captain in both international cricket and IPL or Rohit Sharma, another successful IPL captain who has delivered whenever he has chipped in as the national captain, Kohli has witnessed two different tales in the two formats. Just as his captaincy feats in international cricket have turned enviable, he has struggled in the IPL as the skipper. Despite leading Royal Challengers Bangalore for six seasons since 2013, Kohli has managed to take his team to the final only once (2016) but lost the title clash against Sunrisers Hyderabad. In his seventh season as the captain too, Kohli’s side saw a disastrous start, losing its first match to Chennai Super Kings by 7 wickets after getting bundled out for 70. In the second match, too, the RCB finished second best to Mumbai Indians, losing by just six runs. Like every big story has a weak link, Kohli too has one and that is his record in the IPL. Since cricket is a team game boosted by individuals, Kohli’s batting record in the tournament has often eclipsed the collective failure of the RCB. On Thursday too, he became the second batsman to complete 5,000 runs in the IPL after Suresh Raina who did it in the first game against the Royal Challengers. But the fact that his team has not matched any of his own greatness as its member has and is bound to affect the great man’s captaincy credentials. We have seen already names like Gautam Gambhir and Mitchell Johnson having raised questions over Kohli’s captaincy in the RCB though in different ways and if the RCB fail to make this season count, things will be turning unfavourable for the man even more. Over-dependence on brand names doesn’t always work; look at RCB The RCB’s biggest problem is perhaps its over-dependence on a few brand names that have eclipsed the rest of the squad. Earlier, it was Kohli-AB de Villiers-Chris Gayle and now it is largely Kohli and de Villiers after the Caribbean’s departure. The fact that there are others doing the duty for the side as a routine affair perhaps has hurt the RCB the most. It is true that teams like MI are more star-studded but even then one can’t call them the most consistent team in the IPL. The RCB’s case perhaps drives home the point that big names do not always deliver the best as the lesser names might fail to realise the potential standing next to some of the world’s best. One suspects the RCB do not have that layer of players who can provide that perfect link between the top layer and the not-so-prominent one. It is important for a team to have that middle or second level that can help the team gel perfectly. The sea of difference between the experience and skills of the top few and those in the lower stratum who are playing more to create an identity of their own means the team as a whole is not on a balanced platform. One can expect flashes in the pan from such outfits instead of consistent and steady performances. Kohli not as captain will do both him and RCB good One school of thought feels Kohli should be removed from RCB’s captaincy or rather he should step down for the good of all. It will not only reduce his own burden since the man is already captaining the national team in all three formats besides scoring brisk runs for the country, but also see the team being led by a non-superstar but effective cricketer. Kohli can be right up there as a special batsman in the side, free to play his own game while the rest of the team can work on its collective plans in a less celebrated manner. That way, the focus will be more on Kohli’s own batting which he is a master to manage. Not seeing Kohli at the helm of an RCB team which is doing ordinarily will deflate the media’s curiosity and that will give the franchise a better space to retrospect and not get distracted in unnecessary noise. If Kohli is not destined to win an IPL, we can’t really blame him. There is no effort that he has spared to lift the trophy and went so close to realising it in 2016. But since there is an invisible force in this universe that does the balancing act by ensuring that not everyone gets everything, Kohli can take solace from the fact that he has given his best which is what matters. Otherwise, it is getting far too predictable and disheartening to see the man, who is otherwise never short of energy, missing the bus again and again. [interaction id=”5c9921daffabcfb38715b7e7″]<doc-sep>A lot of frustrated RCB fans have expressed their disgruntlement at the way their favorite team has played so far in IPL 2019. After two humiliating defeats at the hands of CSK and SRH and a controversial defeat to MI, RCB are languishing at the bottom of the points table with a shocking NRR of -2.41. With 11 games left to salvage something in this season, and with the coveted ICC World Cup 2019 coming up in a few months’ time, the question a lot of people are asking is: should Virat Kohli forego the RCB captaincy and focus on just his batting? The burden of having to put on a good show for the loyal fans of RCB who have stood by him through the highs and lows, was evident in how agitated and expressive Kohli was against MI. Prima facie, it would do lot of good for Kohli to let go of the burden. His valuable insights and experience would always come in handy for the new skipper, and he will also have greater freedom to concentrate on his batting. There are some other factors that could also make Kohli step down as captain, which are as follows: Lack of experience and quality Indian players in RCB’s squad Kohli sets such a high example with his batting and fitness standards that it becomes tough for everyone else to follow. In the Indian national team, he has got a very solid and competent set of players who can work and adjust to his style. But that's not the case with the RCB team. Apart from himself and Yuzvendra Chahal, the Indian contingent in RCB lacks experience and quality. The likes of Parthiv Patel, Navdeep Saini, Shivam Dube and Mohammed Siraj are talented players, but are they good enough to live up to the expectations set by Kohli? Not quite. If a less demanding skipper takes over the reins of RCB, like say AB de Villiers, then we may to get to see the Indian players in RCB shining and performing to their best. For some reason, RCB's Indian talent isn't clicking as expected. That could do with the quality of the opposition players, or with their skipper Kohli’s way of functioning. Apart from ABD, no foreign player can single-handedly win games for RCB To deal with the lack of experience in the Indian players, Kohli constantly looks to the four foreign players to step up and win games on their own. But while in the past they had Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers and Shane Watson, now they have only De Villiers. The emphasis on getting the right foreign talent has also gone missing. Their current imports - Moeen Ali, Colin de Grandhomme and Shimron Hetmeyer - haven’t clicked as yet. RCB would be ruing the fact that they let go of an in-form Quinton de Kock before the start of IPL 2019. They have also been missing the services of Marcus Stoinis and Nathan Coulter-Nile, who have now joined the squad and would be expected to fill in the gaps. The bottom line is that Kohli has set such high standards with the bat and his captaincy for India that he almost expects everything to automatically fall in place when he captains RCB. But when things don’t go right and the games slip from his grasp, he has nowhere to turn. No one wants to see a disgruntled and clueless Kohli. Perhaps the best thing for RCB and IPL would be for Kohli to just focus on his batting and entertain the crowds like only he can, and leave the burden of captaincy to someone else.<doc-sep>Virat Kohli has been Royal Challengers Bangalore captain since 2011. (Source: PTI) Virat Kohli has been Royal Challengers Bangalore captain since 2011. (Source: PTI) Virat Kohli is captaining Royal Challengers Bangalore for the 100th match in the Indian Premier League as they take on Rajasthan Royals on Tuesday in the 12th season of the franchise-based tournament. He has been leading the RCB since 2011 and joins MS Dhoni and Gautam Gambhir with 100-plus matches under the belt. Of all the players to have captained at least 50 matches in the IPL, Kohli has the poorest record. MS Dhoni, who has been captain of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS) for 162 matches, has the best record. Gambhir, meanwhile, led Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Daredevils in 129 matches for the second most matches as captain in the IPL. Dhoni’s win percentage as captain stands at 60.24% while that of Gambhir is 55.42% and Kohli’s is 46.87%. Kohli’s overall record as captain paints a sorry picture for RCB who have never won the IPL: 44 wins, 50 defeats, two ties and three no results. Other players to have captained at least 50 matches are: Sachin Tendulkar 51 matches (win percentage – 58.82%), Virender Sehwag 53 (53.77%), Shane Warne 55 (55.45%), Adam Gilchrist 74 (47.29%) and Rohit Sharma 92 (57.06%). In the ongoing IPL, the theme has continued for Kohli and RCB. They’ve played three matches so far and lost all three – vs Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad.<doc-sep>Please read this with caution! A leading news portal published on April 01 claimed that after Sunday's mauling at the hands of SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain Virat Kohli has announced to step down as the captain of both the Bangaluru-based team and India. And the 30-year-old also requested Mahendra Singh Dhoni to lead India in the upcoming World Cup in England. The unexpected announcement came hours after RCB tasted their third successive defeat in the cash-rich T20 league at Hyderabad. In one of the most one-sided matches in the history of IPL, RCB suffered a 118-run defeat with SRH openers Jonny Bairstow and David Warner hitting centuries in a record opening stand. Not happy with the right-hander's performance, fans trolled the India captain.., asking him to take retirement. After the match, Kohli admitted that the defeat was one of their worst ever, and said that there's nothing he can explain. Earlier, they have suffered losses against the MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rohit Sharma's Mumbai Indians. It's pertinent to mention here that Kohli took over India captaincy reigns from Dhoni, while Rohit is the vice-captain of limited overs sides. "One of our worst losses ever. Literally, nothing I can explain. Nothing went right for us from ball one until our last wicket fell in the second innings. We were outplayed in all departments by a quality side. They showed that they are a champion side - they were finalists last time and beat us in the final (in 2016)," a dejected Kohli said after the match. But nobody would have thought that Kohli will take such a drastic step call it a day and hang his cricket boots, or whatever. "I do not want to continue as the captain of India at the moment. I believe MS Dhoni is better placed to lead the team in the World Cup. It is a big tournament and comes once in four years. We want to win the World Cup and I believe we have the team to win it," the news sits quoted Kohli as saying. Known for his head-strong personality, Kohli is often compared with some of the greatest captains the game has ever seen. Besides his insatiable hunger for runs, Kohli likes to lead from the front. But in the last few innings, he seemed to have wilted under the pressure. "I think my luck is not siding by me. In cricket and to win big tournaments, somewhere down the line one must get lucky. MS is better on that front. All the factors combined, I have decided to ask him to walk out as India skipper for one last tournament," Kohli added. In fact, former India opener Gautam Gambhir lambasted Kohli, saying that the right-handed batsman is lucky to have survived as the captain of RCB despite not winning the IPL. Unlike Kohli, both Dhoni and Rohit have led their respective teams to three IPL titles. In a career spanning more than a decade, who started as a 'Delhi brat', Kohli became one of the greatest batsmen of all time, and he was on course to break most of the batting records, including the ones held by legendary Sachin Tendulkar. And as a captain, Kohli had led India to memorable wins. But the best of the lot was India's maiden Test and ODI series Down Under against the Aussies. He scored 6613, 10843, 2263 runs in 77 Tests, 227 ODIs and 67 T20Is respectively. He also has 66 international hundreds. Meanwhile, Dhoni hit an unbeaten 46-ball 75 to guide defending champions CSK to an 8-run win over Rajasthan Royals. They are unbeaten in the tournament. Interestingly, Dhoni himself is working overtime to stay relevant in the Indian set-up. Dhoni is the only captain to have won all three ICC-sanctioned tournaments – T20 World Cup (2007), ODI World Cup (2011) and Champions Trophy (2013). India will start their World Cup campaign on June 5 at the Rose Bowl in Southampton when they take on South Africa. This is just another April Fools' prank. Hope it was worth your time. For in-depth, objective and more importantly balanced journalism, Click here to subscribe to Outlook Magazine<doc-sep>
As the 12th edition of the world's top T20 league - IPL 2019 - commenced, RCB fans were hoping for a change in the team’s fortunes. But the Bangalore-based franchise have once again started their campaign on the wrong foot. With three losses in their first three matches, RCB are languishing at the bottom of the points table. This season it is not just about the losses for RCB, but also how easily they have lost the games. Barring one match against Mumbai Indians, they have not even shown the stomach to fight in the other two games, against CSK and SRH. Many cricketing experts and fans are now suggesting a change in the leadership of RCB. Virat Kohli, the current skipper, needs no introduction. He is the presiding captain of Team India, and he has been leading the Men in Blue successfully in all formats for a while now. Despite his numerous achievements on the cricket field though, Kohli is yet to lift the coveted IPL trophy. He once again has a star-studded squad at his disposal, yet his team is struggling badly and performing poorly. Kohli's regular failures as captain have brought the situation to a boiling point. Questions are being raised about Kohli’s captaincy skills, and his ability to unlock the full potential of his squad. In particular, there is one question that is doing the rounds: should he step down as RCB’s captain, like Gautam Gambhir did for Delhi last year? While Kohli is undoubtedly the best batsman of the modern era and certainly one of the best the game has ever seen, the same can’t be said about him as a captain. Although he has a good captaincy record in the international arena, his IPL captaincy record is poor by any standard. Kohli's numbers don’t speak much in his favor. He has won only 44 matches out of 99 in the IPL, which is why it's not surprising that RCB regularly struggle to make the playoffs. The time has come for King Kohli to introspect his role within the franchise and hand over the captaincy baton to some other deserving candidate. After relinquishing the captaincy duties, Kohli would also be able to play more freely as a batsman. RCB would be immensely benefited if Kohli ‘the batsman’ can play his natural game without any extra pressure. A brave decision such as this could prove to be a masterstroke in changing the fortunes of the franchise. Kohli stepping down as captain might be the exact boost that the Bangalore-based franchise need right now in their quest to lift their maiden IPL trophy.