IPL 2021: 3 international captains who played under Virat Kohli in the IPL
Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli has been a part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore squad since the inception of the Indian Premier League. He joined RCB in the U-19 Draft, and a few years later, he became the captain of the team.
Kohli has led Royal Challengers Bangalore in 132 matches so far. Although RCB are yet to win their maiden IPL title, the team management has retained its faith in Kohli and allowed him to lead the team even when they have had other international captains in their squad.
Players like Chris Gayle and Shane Watson played under Virat Kohli's leadership after they had served as the captains of their international teams. Here, we will look at the three players who played under Kohli while they were the skippers of their respective international sides.
1. AB de Villiers - Playing under Virat Kohli since 2011
Virat Kohli made his IPL captaincy debut in 2011, and AB de Villiers was part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore squad at the time. de Villiers led South Africa in multiple ICC tournaments after 2011, but played under Kohli in the IPL.
The South African star has now retired from all formats of international cricket but is still plying his trade in the IPL for the RCB under Kohli. Interestingly, de Villiers has never had an opportunity to captain Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Even though Kohli was unavailable for a few matches during the 2017 IPL season and de Villiers was in the team, the team management assigned the reins of the team to Australian all-rounder Shane Watson.
2. Aaron Finch - Played under Virat Kohli in IPL 2020
Aaron Finch joined the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the previous edition of the IPL. The Australian skipper played under the leadership of Virat Kohli and was expected to provide a good start at the top of the order for the RCB team.
While the Aussie batsman performed well in a few innings, he was inconsistent. Finch ended IPL 2020 with just 268 runs in 12 innings at a strike rate of 111.20. Kohli then decided to open the innings himself with Devdutt Padikkal which prompted RCB to release Finch.
You can check out the RCB schedule here.
3. Daren Sammy
Daren Sammy, the only captain to have won the T20 World Cup twice, played under Virat Kohli's captaincy during his RCB stint in 2015-16. The Caribbean all-rounder led the Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2014. However, SRH released him before the 2015 IPL Auction.
Royal Challengers Bangalore signed him at the auction but did not use his services much. Sammy represented the RCB in only two IPL games, where he scored 13 runs at a strike rate of 72.22. With the ball, he bowled three overs and returned wicketless.
RCB released Sammy ahead of the 2017 IPL Auction. The West Indian star played his last IPL season for the Punjab Kings in 2017.