"RCB should not make Kohli their captain" - Aakash Chopra believes franchise should move in new direction ahead of IPL 2022
Former India opener Aakash Chopra feels Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) should not ask Virat Kohli to lead the IPL team once again at IPL 2022. The three-time finalists will reveal their IPL captain for the upcoming edition of the tournament on March 12, along with their new jersey.
Kohli stepped down from his role as RCB captain at the end of IPL 2021. He subsequently relinquished his leadership across formats with Team India a few months after quitting IPL captaincy.
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Opining that Kohli should not be saddled with the responsibility of captaincy again, Chopra said on his YouTube channel:
"In my opinion, RCB should not make Kohli their captain. He decided to leave captaincy to play with freedom, so don't burden him now. This might be a good thing for the franchise; we might see a free-flowing Kohli batting without the pressure of captaincy."
Chopra added:
"He is also not getting younger by the day; he has experienced pressure in various forms over the years. From RCB's perspective, sometimes you need a new direction."
RCB have assembled a new-look squad following their exploits at the two-day IPL 2022 mega auction last month. The primary captaincy candidates for the franchise are Faf du Plessis, Dinesh Karthik and Glenn Maxwell.
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"I'm not in favour of this option" - Aakash Chopra on Glenn Maxwell captaining RCB
An exceptional IPL 2021 campaign with the bat and his leadership stint with the Melbourne Stars have primed Glenn Maxwell as a candidate for the vacant RCB captaincy position.
However, former India opener Chopra feels appointing the Australian as captain would be a huge gamble, considering his inconsistency. Chopra added in this regard:
"Can Maxwell be named as captain? That's the burning question. He is a tempting option. He has captained the Melbourne Stars well and has also put in good performances, but I'm not in favour of this option, to be very honest. I have reservations about overseas captains."
The former player concluded:
"He has performed well once in five years in the IPL; it is too premature, so a Morgan-like situation can arise. This is not a team that will continue to play an out-of-form player; this is a team that will lose patience."
Maxwell almost led the injury-ravaged Melbourne Stars to the playoffs in the 2021-22 BBL season. They eventually finished sixth in the points table with 26 points.
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RCB will begin their IPL 2022 schedule with a clash against Punjab Kings at the DY Patil Stadium, Mumbai, on March 27, as per the recently released IPL 2022 schedule.