IPL 2020: Gautam Gambhir wants Virat Kohli-led RCB to win the tournament this time

Gautam Gambhir has said that the biggest challenge in front of Virat Kohli is to lead the Royal Challengers Bangalore to an IPL triumph in the upcoming edition of the tournament that gets underway this Saturday. Kohli was appointed as RCB's skipper in the 2013 edition. Under his reign, the franchise had made it to the playoffs in 2015 and were the runners-up in the 2016 season. However, the team had finished as the wooden-spooners on most of the occasions.

'The biggest challenge': Gautam Gambhir

While interacting on the Star Sports show 'Cricket Connected', Gambhir went on to say the biggest challenge for Virat Kohli the batsman is that he needs to win the tournament necessarily and then mentioned that Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma and the Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni have led their respective sides to four and three title triumphs each. 

“And you are captaining for the last 8 to 9 years. You might be scoring huge runs on your own, which he will score this time as well, but ultimately you want to win the trophy as a captain and as a player. If you ask any captain if he would like to score 700 runs or win the tournament after scoring 500 runs, he will go for the latter,” said Gambhir who had led Kolkata Knight Riders to two IPL wins. 

“And when someone opens the batting, whether it is Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma or me when I was playing, we have more opportunities to score runs as compared to someone who plays in the middle order. So, the opener will definitely score 500-700 runs but if you will ask the RCB captain, then the biggest challenge in front of Virat Kohli is that he scores runs but more important than that is to win the tournament or reach the playoffs or the finals,” the 2011 World Cup winner added.

Virat Kohli in IPL 2020

Virat Kohli will be leading the three-time finalists Royal Challengers Bangalore as they eye their maiden IPL crown. The entire RCB squad is currently staying at the Waldorf Astoria, a location decided by the RCB franchise owners. The extravagant Waldorf Astoria has a stunning view and is considered to be one of the most spacious and attractive hotels in Dubai. It is located at Crescent Road in Palm Jumeirah. 

RCB had finished as the second-best side on three occasions in the 2009, 2011, and 2016 editions respectively, and has also finished as the wooden-spooners on numerous occasions as well. It remains to be seen whether a change in the venue can revive their fortunes as Bangalore's hunt for the elusive silverware continues.

The Bangalore franchise will kickstart their campaign when they lock horns against the 2016 winners Sunrisers Hyderabad at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai on September 21.

READ: IPL 2020: Gautam Gambhir Urges Virat Kohli To Be More Responsible As RCB Captain