'Faf du Plessis or Virat Kohli? I am going to go with...': Ex-KKR star picks RCB's top scorer for IPL 2023
While run-machine Virat Kohli had a bitter-sweet season with RCB in IPL 2022, veteran batter Faf du Plessis emerged as the leader run-getter for Bangalore last year.
Former South African skipper Faf du Plessis led Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) from the front in his debut season as the leader of the Virat Kohli-starrer side in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022. The former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) opener was sold to RCB for a whopping sum of INR 7 crore at the mega auction. Du Plessis guided RCB to the playoffs in his first season as the captain of the Bengaluru-based franchise last year.
While run-machine Kohli had a bitter-sweet season with RCB in IPL 2022, veteran batter Du Plessis emerged as the leader run-getter for the Bangalore franchise. Du Plessis smashed 468 runs for the Kohli-starrer side in the IPL 2022. Talking about the batting lineup of RCB ahead of the new season, former Indian opener Aakash Chopra backed Kohli to emerge as the leading run-getter for Du Plessis and Co. in 2023.
"Who will be the highest run-scorer for this team - Faf or Virat Kohli? I am going to go with Virat Kohli. Virat didn't score runs last year. It cannot happen every year, so he will score runs and then the team will look slightly stronger. They have a very good captain in the form of Faf du Plessis. If we talk about the batting, Virat Kohli comes to open along with Faf du Plessis. They might not have a place for Anuj Rawat and then Rajat Patidar at No. 3, he has performed very well," Chopra told Jio Cinema.
"After that, they play Glenn Maxwell. Then they gave chances to Mahipal Lomror and Shahbaz Ahmed, and then comes Dinesh Karthik, who performs the finisher's role. The batting looks alright," the former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batter added. Bangalore suffered a heavy blow in the lead-up to the new season as Will Jacks was ruled out of the IPL 2023. Jacks was roped in by RCB for INR 3.2 crore at the IPL auction.
The Englishman sustained a muscle injury while playing for England in Bangladesh. New Zealand's Michael Bracewell has joined the RCB camp as the replacement for the injured batting all-rounder. Bracewell has been signed by Royal Challengers Bangalore at his auction base price of INR 1 crore. The 32-year-old has played 16 T20Is for the Black Caps."Will Jacks went out and Michael Bracewell came in. Michael Bracewell is a gun player - understands the pulse of T20 cricket, a wonderful striker of the cricket ball although his bowling might work limitedly, especially at the Chinnaswamy," Chopra concluded.