Live Score
ICC Ranking
Cricket Teams
Cricket Players'Virat has given absolutely everything to this franchise': Mike Hesson reveals reason behind Kohli's exit as RCB captain
Virat Kohli took over the RCB captaincy from Daniel Vettori in the 2013 season.
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Saturday unveiled Faf du Plessis as their new skipper ahead of this year's Indian Premier League season. The seasoned batter from South Africa took over from Virat Kohli, who had stepped down after the last edition as the team's longest-serving captain.
Kohli's career has witnessed a major change since September. He has relinquished the India helm for all three formats along with giving up the Bangalore leadership as well. There was a slight possibility of Kohli's return to captaincy but du Plessis' appointment rules that out. Kohli, who took over as RCB skipper fulltime in 2013, was unable to lead the side to an IPL title but the flamboyant batter will look to help them chase an elusive trophy in the upcoming season.
Bangalore's Director of Cricket Operations Mike Hesson also said that Kohli wants to enjoy his game and help the franchise win its maiden title. Hesson also opened up about Kohli's exit from leadership, saying the star batter wanted a "break" and his decision was received well by the management.
"Virat has given absolutely everything to this franchise as a captain. He has given his heart and soul. It is pretty apparent that when you resign from a role, you want a break. He wants to enjoy his time at RCB as a senior player and as a batsman and we are very respectful of that as well," Hesson said at the RCB Unbox event on Saturday.
Hesson also said that Kohli was consulted for his successor and du Plessis was endorsed by him and Bangalore's fan-favourite AB de Villiers.
"Just because the situation has changed within here doesn't mean that the situation has changed in terms of him wanting to come and win games for RCB. We spoke to Virat about the leadership options and Faf was someone he was really excited about. I have also leaned on AB de Villiers for his thoughts as well," he further said.
Hesson also weighed in on Kohli's lean patch with the willow. The 33-year-old Kohli hasn't reached the three-figure mark for 28 months now. His last hundred was against Bangladesh in the pink-ball game at Kolkata, back in November 2019. But Hesson feels Kohli will bat with plenty of freedom this season without the captaincy burden.
"Virat has set a standard that's very hard to maintain. His ability to convert is second to none. So when he doesn't convert for a period of time, we start to worry. So when he gets 1, he will get 3 or 4. The fact that he's still rated in the top 5 Test players in the world suggests that he is still getting pretty good output in terms of his runs. He is still scoring hard runs, which can often be underestimated. The fact that he's not going to captain RCB this year will allow him to play with a bit more freedom," Hesson elaborated.
