Daniel Vettori, head coach of the IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore, has revealed that South African AB de Villiers may likely fill in the captaincy role, in case regular skipper Virat Kohli remains unavailable during the initial stages of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL).
Speaking at the press conference ahead of the 10th edition of the league, Vettori stated that Kohli would join the rest of the team on the 2nd of April after the undergoing test conducted by BCCI doctors who are monitoring his recovery process.
“He will come in on April 2. Between now and then, the BCCI doctors and physio will speak to us and our medical staff will get a clearer picture. Right now, we don’t have a clear picture on his availability. We’ll know in the next few days.
Kohli picked up a shoulder injury in the 3rd Test at Ranchi during the recently concluded Border – Gavaskar series which Team India won 2-1. The injury forced him to sit out of the 4th decisive Test at Dharamsala, causing concerns about his fitness among fans. After India’s eight-wicket win in the Dharamsala Test against Australia, Kohli had said that he was still a few weeks away from recovering fully from the shoulder injury.
“The likely scenario is that AB de Villiers will take over the duties, but we’ll answer that once we find out if Virat is out,” Vettori said.
Royal Challengers Bangalore, who end up as the finalists in the previous edition, will begin their campaign against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the tournament opener at Hyderabad on April 5. The RCB fans would obviously be hoping to hear a good news about Kohli from the franchise soon.