'Don’t Think He Is That Great': Manjrekar Strongly Against Notion Of Making Kohli As RCB Skipper

The IPL 2025 Retentions came i f as a huge relief for the RCB fans as the franchise's favourite star, Virat Kohli , has been retained. The star player has been with the team since its commencement, and the association will continue. Given that Kohli has retired from the T20Is, watching him go big in the limited-over format will be a treat to the fans. But RCB still lacks a skipper after Faf du Plessis wasn't retained by the team, and speculations are rife that Kohli could take his reins back as the skipper. However, a former India star is not impressed with the notion.  

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Sanjay Manjrekar Not Keen On Virat Kohli Becoming The RCB Skipper Once Again

While speaking to ESPNcricinfo, Sanjay Manjrekar opined on the notion of Virat Kohli possibly returning to the helm as the RCB skipper. Manjrekar solely focused on his performance and believes Kohli is not as great as he used to be in the T20Is seven to eight years back.

“Remove Virat Kohli and his stature from you mind and only look at his performances in the Incredible Premier League, his performances as a batter and performance as a captain. And think whether it’s the right decision to make him the captain again. Last season, he had a strike rate of 150 and in the 120s in the previous seasons.

“So, as a T20 player, can Virat Kohli make an impact? Because he is Virat Kohli, 95 percent fans want him to be the captain. But if you look at his performances, then his contributions haven’t been impressive enough. This is my problem because I don’t like being emotional. I don’t want to go away from the truth with hero worship like fans. In Test cricket, Virat Kohli is out of form, but India need him. But in T20s, I don’t think he is that great a player as he was 7-8 years ago,” Manjrekar said as per ESPNcricinfo.

Also Read: RCB Discard Possibilities Of Virat Kohli Returning As Captain, Confuse Fans With Retention Puzzle

Virat Kohli led the charge from 2013 after he got the reins from Daniel Vettori. He held the helm till 2021 when he stepped down and Du Plessis took over. The Bengaluru-based franchise is yet to win an IPL title, and they aim to do the unthinkable in the upcoming season.