IPL 2021: If I Was Owning RCB, I Would Tell Virat Kohli He Is Not Giving Up The Captaincy: Brian Lara

Former West Indies cricketer Brian Lara said that had he been the owner of Royal Challengers Bangalore then he wouldn’t allow Virat Kohli to step down from the captaincy role.

Ahead of the second leg of IPL 2021, Kohli announced that he would be giving up RCB’s captaincy at the end of the season after nearly leading the team for a decade.

Given that RCB are knocked out of IPL 2021 after losing to Kolkata Knight Riders by four wickets on Wednesday in Sharjah, the fans and cricket world won’t see Kohli continue as the team’s leader from the next edition onwards.

Virat Kohli as a player and a leader is two different people: Brian Lara 

Although Kohli has pledged to not play for another franchise rather than RCB, Lara wants the 32-year-old to continue as RCB captain and appreciated him for willing to play under someone else’s leadership.

“You know what I personally will ask, you know if I was the franchise owner, for him to continue because Virat Kohli the player and Virat Kohli the leader, it’s two different people I think and such a high profile player and still very young, willing to play for a handful more years under the leadership of someone else,” Lara told Cricket.com. 

“I don’t know the whole dynamics, the whole chemistry how it can change. He is vowed to remain a RCB player. I personally, if I was owning that franchise, I would tell him he is not giving up the captaincy. We will build our team around you, we will get new players and we will have a different focus,” he added. 

Sunil Narine helps KRR outclass RCB in the Eliminator match

After opting to bat against KKR in the Eliminator match, RCB posted a meagre total of 138/7 as West Indies spinner Sunil Narine wreaked havoc with the ball as he picked the crucial wickets of skipper Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Glenn Maxwell to end with the figures of 4/21.

Narine’s impact was not only restricted with his bowling but he also made sure to count his batting performance too as he clobbered three continuous sixes against Daniel Christian’s bowling in the 12th over. Narine’s carnage brought down the required run rate to less than seven runs per over.

KKR chased the target in the final over to set up their meeting with Delhi Capitals in the second round of Qualifier on Wednesday (October 13).

Also Read: Virat Kohli Bids Farewell To RCB Captaincy With An Emotional Social Media Post