IPL 2019: Should Virat Kohli step down as captain of RCB next season?
Virat Kohli is a name that world cricket is all too familiar with. The man needs no introduction, and it would be fair to say he is the most famous active player right now.
That is with good reason too, as Kohli is easily one of the greatest batsmen the game has ever seen, and probably will ever see. His accomplishments across all formats speak for themselves, and he is an asset to any team that he plays for.
But despite his numerous achievements, Kohli has not been able to win an IPL trophy. To make matters worse, the recent seasons have seen his franchise performing poorly and struggling to even make the playoffs, despite having one of the most star-studded squads.
A lot of questions have been raised about Kohli's captaincy skills, and his ability to get the best out of his players. There have even been murmurs that he may not be the best man to lead RCB as they try to get their hands on their maiden trophy.
Should Kohli step down?
At first glance, most cricket fans would say that Kohli should not give up the captaincy and that he is the right man to lead RCB. However, when you look at the results you realize that the stats don't speak in favor of Kohli retaining the captaincy.
RCB need to take another look at Kohli's role within the franchise. Yes, he is immensely popular and having him as captain would keep the fans happy, but he hasn't quite found a way to win in this tournament. If anything, he seems to be taking the team backwards.
Kohli is a superb talent without a doubt, and the franchise should give some serious thought about playing him as a pure batsman and thus get the most out of his abilities.
Kohli could take a page out of the book of his fellow batsman AB de Villiers. The former South African captain relinquished the leadership to Faf du Plessis, and this reaped good rewards. Du Plessis captained the South African side during De Villiers' absence and the team had looked a much more dangerous unit under his leadership.
The same thing could happen for RCB should Kohli take the brave decision of stepping down. RCB have several other players who are quite capable of leading the team, such as De Villiers himself, and this move might be exactly what the franchise needs to add steam to its decade-long quest of winning silverware.