The four-time IPL champion for CSK was unveiled as RCB captain on Saturday, taking over from their longest-serving captain, Virat Kohli.
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Virat Kohli may have handed over the captaincy, but the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) team will need his energy at every stage of their IPL campaign, according to newly appointed skipper Faf du Plessis. The four-time IPL champion for CSK was unveiled as RCB captain on Saturday, taking over from their longest-serving captain, Virat Kohli, who took over ahead of the 2013 season.
“Even with him (Kohli) not being the captain, that energy he brings to himself and to the team is hugely important for us. We’ll try and use that as best as we can,” Du Plessis said in a virtual media interaction. “His (Kohli) performance as a cricket player has been probably one of the greatest, so huge respect for what he’s done not only with the bat in his hand but also in captaincy perspective, he’s changed Indian cricket.”
Read More – IPL 2022 Live: Faf du Plessis Appointed RCB Skipper, Aaron Finch Goes to KKR
“I’ve seen that happen over time. Playing against India for so long, I could see that shift, his leadership footprint has brought in the Indian team – a competitive, fit Indian team that was fighting fire with fire as no Indian team ever did before. He’s got an extremely strong leadership style and that rubs off obviously on players underneath him and that is something that we would still need,” the South African added.
When Aaron Finch went unsold in the IPL 2022 Mega Auction, a lot of eyebrows were raised. After all, he had just led Australia to their maiden ICC World T20 in 2021 in the UAE. But, now, Aaron Finch finds yet another IPL franchise in 2022. The Australian T20I skipper will replace Alex Hales in the Kolkata Knight Riders. Hales, who was bought for his base price of Rs 1.5 crore by Kolkata Knight Riders, has decided to skip this season of the IPL.
The main reason is bio-bubble fatigue. Hales was part of the Big Bash League as well as the Pakistan Super League T20 but he returned midway through the tournament. Hales had also tested positive for the coronavirus during the Big Bash League. Speaking about his decision to pull out on Twitter, Hales stated, “I am sad to announce that I have made the extremely difficult decision to withdraw from the forthcoming IPL. Having spent the last four months away from home in restrictive bio-bubbles and testing position for Covid myself, I don’t feel as though I can commit myself to another extended period in a secure environment.”
