Three-time finalists Bangalore have been topsy-turvy in the ongoing Indian T20 League 2022. In the first seven games, they won five and looked like qualifying for the playoffs quite easily. However, they lost three games on the bounce and looked like they were going to get knocked out of the tournament. Yet, they won three out of their last four games and thus, are in the playoffs.
Meanwhile, the team is playing under a captain other than Virat Kohli after a really long time. Ahead of the season, the 2016-finalists appointed Faf du Plessis as their new skipper. While speaking on the team’s journey, former India opening batter Virender Sehwag pointed out the difference between Kohli and Du Plessis’ captaincy. Sehwag said that the 33-year-old used to drop players frequently.
On the other, the two-time World Cup winner said that the combination of head coach Sanjay Bangar and Du Plessis has brought consistency in the playing XI. The former opening batter added that having Du Plessis as a skipper has meant that Kohli’s influence in the decision-making has gone down. He explained that if an Indian player was the captain, he would have listened to Kohli’s advice easily.
“The arrival of Sanjay Bangar as head coach and a new captain has changed RCB’s thinking. We have seen how Virat Kohli used to think as he used to drop a player after no performance in 2-3 games. But Bangar and Du Plessis have kept the team almost consistent throughout. Except for Patidar for Anuj Rawat, I don’t think they made any changes due to poor performance,” Sehwag told Cricbuzz.
“If an Indian player had been captain and if Virat Kohli had given him some advice, he might have had to accept it under pressure. So this is what has changed with Du Plessis as captain. Sanjay Bangar has also worked with Kohli and he can have a conversation with him about that although he gives advice, the team wants to do something else,” he explained.
