Mumbai: Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) veteran Virat Kohli has said Faf du Plessis’s solid leadership skills was a key reason that they planned to grab his services for the upcoming IPL edition. Virat Kohli has been with RCB right from the first edition of the IPL in 2008. He was full-time captain of RCB since 2013, but relinquished captaincy after last year’s IPL. RCB will now be led by four-time IPL winner Du Plessis, who was purchased by the franchise for Rs 7 crore in the mega auction last month.
“Getting Faf at the auctions for us, the plan was very clear. We need a leader in the change room who commands a lot of respect. Commands not demands, because he has been there and done that,” Kohli said in video posted by RCB’s Twitter handle.
“He’s a Test captain, that profile comes with a lot of accolades already. We are excited for him to lead RCB. He will do a tremendous job. We get along really well with him, all of us myself, Maxi (Glenn Maxwell) Dinesh Karthik and I think all the guys will enjoy this tournament,” Kohli added.
Kohli joined the RCB preparatory camp Monday. The Indian batting veteran had earlier said he made the decision to quit RCB captaincy as he wanted some space to manage his workload.
“It’s unbelievable IPL has come this far. (I’m here with) Renewed energy because I’m off a lot of responsibilities and duties and life is in a very good place. For me, it’s all about going about life with a lot of joy and happiness,” Kohli stated.
“My focus is so clear, it’s so precise what I want to do. To have a lot of fun and enjoy myself on the field and give myself fully to this team, like I have for many years, without any load,” Kohli explained.
The 15th edition of the IPL will start Saturday with defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) taking on Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Wankhede Stadium here.
