Faf du Plessis as captain a good decision but RCB might replace him with Virat Kohli next year: R Ashwin

Virat Kohli stepped down as the captain of the Royal Challengers Bangalore at the end of IPL 2021 last year and is all set to play under another captain for the franchise for the first time since 2013. Kohli, who led RCB for eight seasons from 2013 to 2021, is the only player in the league to have represented only one franchise so far in his career.

Kohli was appointed as RCB's permanent captain in 2013 and came close to inspiring the side to their first IPL title in 2016. However, RCB lost against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the final to miss out on the trophy. Kohli has been replaced by former South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis as RCB's new captain ahead of IPL 2022.

Du Plessis was roped in by RCB for a sum of Rs 7 crore (INR 70 million) at the IPL 2022 mega auction last month and will be leading a team for the first time in his IPL career. Du Plessis played under MS Dhoni's captaincy in his former side Chennai Super Kings and has won the IPL title twice as a player.

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Veteran Indian spinner R Ashwin, who will be playing for Rajasthan Royals this year in the IPL, believes RCB have made a good decision by appointing Du Plessis as captain but the franchise might re-appoint Kohli next year. Ashwin believes RCB have handed over the leadership role to experienced Du Plessis only to give Kohli a break and take some responsibilities off his shoulders.

“Faf is more like towards the end of his IPL career. Maybe, he has two-three years left with him. And they have made him the captain, which is quite a good decision. He brings in a lot of experience and in fact, he has himself said that we can see a bit of MS Dhoni’s touch in his captaincy skills,” Ashwin said in a video on his Youtube channel.

“I feel that since Virat Kohli has undergone a lot of stress as a captain in the last few years, this year will be like a break for him and they might appoint him as a captain next year is my guess," he added.

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It remains to be seen if Kohli, who has also left Indian team's captaincy across all formats, will return as RCB captain next year. Kohli has so far led RCB in a total of 140 matches and has 64 wins to his name. RCB are yet to win their maiden IPL title and will hope for a change in fortunes this time around.