Former RCB Coach Reveals Virat Kohli Was A Loner And Backed Wrong Players In Early Years

Virat Kohli might be India’s most successful Test captain and possessing an outstanding international record with the bat; however, when it comes to IPL, he has not been able to crack the code. Having taken over from Daniel Vettori as the skipper in 2013, Virat Kohli has found very little or no success so far with the Royal Challengers Bangalore. The franchise’s former coach has underlined Kohli’s mentality during early days of captaincy.

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The 2016 edition was the one when RCB reached the last of the three times in the final. Since then, the team has not finished above 6th in the points table, finishing last in 2017 and 2019. Bowling has always remained the franchise’s Achilles Heel, particularly at the death. Furthermore, the batting line-up has remained overdependent on Virat Kohli and AB De Villiers numerous times. Hence, the 31-year old would be keen to change it in the upcoming edition.

Ray Jennings, who coached RCB between 2009 and 2014, walked down the memory lane when it was the coach’s duty to manage a squad of 25-30 players. Jennings highlighted that Virat Kohli was slightly a loner and supported the wrong players. At the same time, he understood his decisions and opinions.

“If I have to look back then I would say that in IPL there used to be 25-30 players (in the squad) and it was the coach’s duty to look after all the players. Sometimes he was a bit of a loner in the team. Sometimes, he backed the wrong players. But, you can’t blame him for that. I wanted certain players to bowl or bat in certain conditions/situations but he had different ideas,” Jennings said as quoted by Hindustan Times.

“Virat Kohli has always been an unbelievable cricket brain” : Ray Jennings

The South African hailed Virat Kohli for having a brilliant cricketing brain and resorting to higher standards for himself. The former coach conceded that as a youngster, one needed to guide him but is presently delighted to see Kohli grow as a skipper, labelling him as a quick learner.

“Virat Kohli has always been an unbelievable cricket brain. He sets very high standards (for himself) and we went along despite one or two problems. You needed somebody around Virat to guide him (at that point in time). Of course, he and I bumped a few times but he is a good guy and a very quick learner. Nice to see him grow as a player and now as a captain. His mannerism is great. His best is yet to come,” the 66-year old added.

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