The speculation that Indian skipper Virat Kohli may be asked to leave as Royal Challengers Bangalore captain for the next season of Indian Premier League has been doing the rounds for some time now.
There were even reports that suggested his RCB teammate AB de Villiers would succeed Virat Kohli as the captain of the franchise.
The franchise has spoken out on the issue and has clarified the matter.
“We can clarify on record that the news is incorrect and Virat Kohli is very much the captain of RCB for the next season as well,” a team spokesperson of RCB told India Today.
Virat Kohli has been part of RCB since the inaugural season of the cash-rich league. Virat is also one of the most prolific players in the league. The 29-year-old has scored 4948 runs from 163 matches and is only behind Suresh Raina on the batting charts of IPL.
Despite having players of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers calibre, RCB has failed to click as a unit. In the recently concluded season, RCB had failed in reaching the knockout stage and in 2017 their performance were even poorer as they finished last.
Earlier, Daniel Vettori was asked to leave as the head coach and Gary Kirsten was roped in as his replacement. Batting and fielding coach Trent Woodhill and Andrew McDonald were sacked too.
Ashish Nehra, who joined the franchise last season, has been retained as bowling coach of the team.
“I look forward to continuing the journey with RCB and doing my best to help the franchise reach its potential,” Gary Kirsten had said after being appointed the coach.
“I had the privilege to join the coaching team of RCB last season and feel very passionately about the team. I want to thank the team management for considering me in a leadership position with the franchise and look forward for the successful seasons ahead,” Aashish Nehra said after his appointment.