Brian Lara, one of the greatest West Indies former batsmen opened up on RCB and Indian skipper Virat Kohli’s decision to leave the captaincy of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) after IPL 2021 concludes. Brian Lara said that he was proud of Virat Kohli for making such a decision at the peak of his career.
West Indies great Brian Lara has backed Virat Kohli’s decision to leave the captaincy of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) after IPL 2021, saying the India skipper wants to understand his workload in the next few seasons and keep committing to the responsibility he has as a batsman for India and RCB.
Virat Kohli Will Give Up T20I Skipper Role After T20I World Cup And Will Also Quit As RCB Captain After IPL 2021 Concludes
Virat Kohli made it clear that he will continue playing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore but won’t be captaining the team beyond the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 season. Virat Kohli this week also gave up the captaincy of India’s Twenty20 side to manage his immense workload, saying he would not continue in the role after this year’s World Cup in the United Arab Emirates and Oman.
“This will be my last IPL as captain of RCB. I’ll continue to be an RCB player till I play my last IPL game. I thank all the RCB fans for believing in me and supporting me,” said Virat Kohli on RCB’s Twitter handle.
Virat Kohli, who took over as RCB skipper full time in 2013, has yet to lead the side to an IPL title. Virat Kohli’s eight-year tenure as the RCB skipper wasn’t as fruitful as expected despite having some of the biggest names in the shortest format like AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle. The closest he came to winning the trophy was in 2016, driven by himself with staggering 973 runs, but it eluded him.
Brian Lara: Virat Kohli’s Announcement Is Pretty Straightforward As He Wants To Understand His Workload
RCB restart this season’s campaign on Monday (September 20) against Kolkata Knight Riders in Abu Dhabi. Before stepping down, Virat Kohli will be hoping to lead RCB to their maiden IPL title this year. RCB is currently placed third in the league table with 10 points from seven games as they have managed to register five wins before the season was postponed midway through in May due to Covid-19 bio bubble breaches.
“I mean, it’s pretty straightforward. He has said it as clear as possible. He wants to understand his workload and keep committing to the responsibility he has. Very well put together (his statement),” Brian Lara told Star Sports.
“I totally understand. It’s 3 formats of the game. When you go back, it was just Test cricket and the 50-over format. Now he is playing every format of the time. There has come a time when he feels ‘listen, I need to take a step back and maybe the focus on Test cricket and 50-overs format of the game and allow somebody else to take the responsibility (in T20s)’. To me, it’s pretty clear. Proud of someone who is at the height of his career and makes a decision such as this,” Brian Lara added.
RCB takes on the 7th placed Kolkata Knight Riders in Abu Dhabi on Monday in their first game since the resumption of the 2021 season at UAE. Enduring a forgettable outing in the first half of this year’s IPL, two-time former champions Kolkata Knight Riders would look for a change in fortunes when they resume their campaign against 3rd placed Royal Challengers Bangalore in the UAE leg of the extravagant T20 league on Monday.
While Virat Kohli’s RCB are third in the eight-team standings with 10 points from seven games, the 2012 and 2014 champions KKR are languishing at the seventh spot with just two wins out of seven ties.