5 RCB Players who can captain the side in Ab de Villiers’ absence
With less than a week to go for one of the richest cricket leagues in the world, it was confirmed that some of the most important players of the eight-team tournament will not be in action. The Royal Challengers Bangalore are the worst affected by the spate of injuries as the participation of their three batting pillars, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Ab de Villiers’, is uncertain.
Indian captain Virat Kohli sustained a shoulder injury in the third Test against Australia in Ranchi, and is likely to remain out of action for the first half of the tournament. And if Kohli’s absence wasn’t enough to hurt RCB’s campaign, the news of KL Rahul’s injury made the rounds on Friday morning. Sources revealed that Rahul will be travelling to London during the IPL to undergo surgery on his left shoulder that he had hurt during the Border-Gavaskar series opener in Pune.
And just when the Vijay Mallya-owned franchise named AB de Villiers as the captain in Kohli’s absence, uncertainty loomed large over the South African batsman’s participation too, after he was ruled out of the Momentum One Day Cup final due to a back injury.
It may well be the case that the South African star is preserving himself for the IPL and did not risk himself by playing the final of the Momentum Cup.
If the South African misses a few matches through injury, who could be his replacement as captain? Here are five RCB players who could lead the side in the absence of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers in IPL 2017.
#1 Shane Watson
Shane Watson is one of the best all-rounders to come out of Australia in the recent past. He was appointed as Australia’s vice-captain from 2011 to 2013, and became the team’s 44th Test captain later that year. He led the Australian Team against India in Delhi in March 2013.
The 35-year old has also captained the Rajasthan Royals in 2014 and 2015 and in the inaugural season of the league, and was awarded the ‘Player of the Series’ in 2013. The years of cricketing knowledge that Watson carries could make him the first choice for captaincy if de Villiers doesn’t fly to India anytime soon.