Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) has been one of the most enigmatic teams in the 16 years Indian Premier League (IPL). The franchise has made it into the finals thrice but is yet to win the title.
But things that have remained constant all this while is MS Dhoni leading the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Virat Kohli playing for RCB. Both players have an unending fan following and are hugely admired by the budding cricketers.
While CSK are the second most successful side in the league with 4 trophies in their cabinet, Virat’s RCB is yet to win their first.
The two teams have shared rivalry throughout these years and many have wondered what would have happened if MS Dhoni was the captain of RCB and if you would have managed to win the title or two for the Bangalore-based team.
The same question was asked to Pakistani legend Wasim Akram and the legend had a very interesting answer to give.
In an interaction which Sportskeeda, Akram said: “RCB teen dafa trophies jeet chuka hota abhi tak (RCB would have won three titles). They have immense fan support, and also the best player of the modern era – Virat Kohli. He has been there with the RCB since the IPL started. But unfortunately, they haven’t won the trophy. Dhoni hota to inko jeeta chukka hota (Had Dhoni been the RCB skipper, he would have led them to title victory).”
When asked about where did Kohli lag when he was the RCB skipper, Akram said, “I don’t know where did he lag. He is a very hard-working boy. Maybe he was concentrating on Indian cricket so much and in the IPL, captaincy burdens you sometimes. So, he is better of where he is. He is doing a lot better and seems like he’s enjoying his game.”
Akram further mentioned that captaincy is a habit and Dhoni is someone who inspires his teammates and instills confidence in them.
“And if we speak about Dhoni, he has the habit. Because captaincy is a habit. Even Virat developed it eventually. He isn’t calm inside and doesn’t reflect on his face. But the player knows who sometimes gets shouted at or gets a pat on the back. So, Dhoni is a captain who instills confidence in his players,” Akram concluded.
CSK defeated RCB in IPL 2023 in an interesting game by 8 runs in Bengaluru.