Last Update on: September 14th, 2021 at 05:08 pm
Former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Gautam Gambhir said that Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) senior players Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers will have challenges in the second phase of IPL 2021.
RCB had a great run in the first phase of IPL 2021 where they won their first five games before losing the last two and are currently positioned in third place on the points table.
AB de Villiers hasn’t played any competitive cricket in the last four and a half months
Kohli and de Villiers have been the backbone of RCB for more than a decade and the team has heavily relied on the duo to provide impetus in the batting line-up.
Gambhir, who won two titles with KKR, is of the opinion that the South African batsman hasn’t played any competitive cricket since the IPL was suspended in May. Gambhir worries that de Villiers and Kohli, who was recently involved in four Test matches against England, will need to quickly adjust to the T20 format if RCB wants to win their elusive IPL title.
Virat Kohli will have to adjust really quickly: Gautam Gambhir
“See there’s going to be a challenge for Virat and there’s going to be a huge challenge for AB de Villiers as well because he will be coming into the tournament without playing any cricket at all,” Gambhir said on Star Sports.
“Virat Kohli will have to adjust really quickly because there’ll be hardly any time for him to get used to it.
“From the five-Test-match series to the T20 format, and AB as well, because these guys need to get runs if they have to have a chance to first qualify for the playoffs and then probably go on to win the title,” Gambhir added.
Kohli has scored 198 runs from seven matches while the former South Africa captain has accumulated 207 runs at the strike rate of 164. RCB will play their first match against Gambhir’s former team KKR on September 20 in Abu Dhabi.
Also Read: IPL 2021: I Am Trying To Find Comfort Zone Of Movement At The Crease, Says AB de Villiers
