Royal Challengers Bangalore batter Glenn Maxwell on Thursday (17th March) said that with no burden of captaincy Virat Kohli looks ‘stress-free’ and it’s a dangerous sign for the opposition teams.
Kohli announced his decision to step down as RCB skipper during the IPL 2021. The franchise recently named Faf du Plessis as the new captain for the upcoming IPL 2022.
Not only the RCB captaincy, but Kohli also stepped down as India’s T20I and Test skipper. He was also sacked as the ODI captain of the team. With him not being the leader anymore, many expect him to rediscover his form and return back to scoring ways like he used to do.
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Since stepping down as India’s skipper, Kohli played decent knocks but failed to cash on the starts he got. Now with IPL 15, which will begin from 26th March, around the corner, it can be a great platform for him to enjoy and bring his A-game back.
Speaking on the RCB podcast, Glenn Maxwell said that Virat Kohli not having the burden of captaincy anymore can be dangerous news for opposition teams.
"He knows he's handing the captaincy over, which I think is potentially a big burden for him. It might have been something that's been weighing him down for a while and now that he's been able to release it, it might be dangerous news for opposition teams," Glenn Maxwell said.
Maxwell said he's been "really surprised" with how measured Kohli has been with expressing his opinions of late. He attributed it to the former RCB captain being free of external pressures, suggesting that he no longer tries to impose himself on the opposition and the game.
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“It is amazing for him to be relaxed a bit and actually enjoy the next few years of his career without any of that sort of external pressure. I think playing against him in earlier days, he was a fiery competitor, getting in your face. He's always trying to impose himself on the game. Impose himself on the opposition.
“Something I've noticed more from him this year is he's been really measured with his emotions. He's actually been really measured with his decision-making. He's certainly really surprised me and probably how close we've both gotten to each other as well this year. Being able to talk about the game in a calm manner," he said.
Maxwell concluded by saying that he enjoyed playing, having good conversations about the game with former RCB skipper.
"Because you do see that over-excited, in your face style when you play against him. But to play with him and have really good conversations about the game, I've really enjoyed that,” he said.
RCB are placed with Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), Punjab Kings (PBKS), and Gujarat Titans (GT) in group B. They will kick start their campaign against the Mayank Agarwal-led side on 27th March in Mumbai.
(PTI inputs)
