Virat Kohli might be removed as Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain if his struggles continue, as reported by the news agency IANS. The agency quoted a former Indian cricketer who said that Kohli was "struggling big time" and can be "removed midway" as RCB captain.
This might sound a bit absurd as the Indian captain had himself announced to step down as RCB captain after the 2021 season. Ex-cricketers like Gautam Gambhir had also questioned the timing of Kohli's announcement to quit RCB captaincy stating that "he could have quit the captaincy right away".
The RCB had a poor start to their IPL 2021 Phase 2 campaign. They scored only 92 runs in the first innings and lost the match with 10 overs to spare. Virat Kohli opted to bat against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and got out for a small total of four runs. This is the particular reason that is being told for Kohli's purported removal as RCB skipper.
“Look at the way he was playing against Kolkata Knight Riders. Just clueless! It seems he is struggling big time right now. There are chances that he could be removed mid-way through the season. It has happened earlier also with other teams — like with Dinesh Karthik in KKR and David Warner in Sunrisers Hyderabad, among others. They were either removed or they stepped down mid-way. So it can happen in RCB as well… I have this feeling after watching yesterday’s match. One more bad game and you can see a change in RCB captaincy right away," said the former cricketer to IANS.
AB De Villiers is the second-biggest name behind Kohli in the team, so he could lead RCB after Virat.
But let's hold our horses and wait for an official confirmation from RCB or Virat Kohli, regarding the same as ousting Kohli at this stage of his career is near implausible.