Royal Challengers Bangalore’s (RCB) Director of Cricket Operations Mike Hesson has confirmed that the skipper Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal will open the innings for the RCB in the upcoming 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 starting April 9.
The talks of Kohli opening for the RCB caught fire after the 32-year-old confirmed the same after he opened for India with Rohit Sharma in the 5th T20I against England and scored an unbeaten 80 off just 52 balls to led the hosts to a 32-run victory to take the series 3-2 in Ahmedabad.
The RCB led by Kohli will begin their IPL 14 campaign against the defending champions Mumbai Indians in the tournament opener at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on April 9.
RCB, one of the most followed and loved teams in the IPL, have had tried different opening combinations over the years, but didn’t work and now they are going to try Kohli- Padikkal as the top in the upcoming IPL 2021, and Hesson revealed it was already discussed ahead of the auction in February.
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Well, Kohli isn’t new to the position, as the India captain has a better strike rate (140.17) as an opener as compared to batting at No.3 (123.84) and even he amassed 2,345 runs at an average of 47.86 for RCB in 61 innings while opening the innings in the IPL.
He has amassed 2,696 runs from 85 innings at an average of 36.93 batting at No.3 in the lucrative T20 tournament.
Hesson said in a video posted by RCB on Twitter on Thursday (March 25), “We talked about this (Virat opening for RCB) before the auction. It came to our auction planning on how to structure our lineup. So, certainly no surprise there.”
The Kiwi further added, “I’m delighted that he got an opportunity to open for India and show everybody what he is capable of. We certainly know that. It was just a reminder for everybody.”
On Kohli-Padikkal's opening for RCB, Hesson said: “We are looking forward to Virat opening the innings with Devdutt. It will be a left and right combination with two different types of players. As for Virat, we know once he gets through the powerplay, he is phenomenal, especially if bats at the top.”
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With Parthiv Patel’s absence and Josh Philippe pulling out of IPL 2021, AB de Villiers might take the gloves again for the RCB, though there are two other options available in Srikar Bharat and Mohammed Azharuddeen, Hesson didn’t comment on whether Proteas legend will continue in the role in IPL 14.
He signed off by saying, “We were delighted. In fact, he (AB de Villiers) loved it, embraced it, and wanted to continue doing it. Look, he is a real option. But we have a couple of options more in the squad which is great.
We have Mohammed Azharuddeen is a real natural athlete whether he takes the gloves or fields. We also got KS Bharat who is a specialist keeper. That gives us different options. But we are not going to make any commitment now.”
(With ANI Inputs)
