Virat Kohli will be happier with his captaincy, says Irfan on RCB performance in IPL 2021

Former Indian pacer Irfan Pathan has said that "Virat Kohli the skipper" will be happier than "Virat Kohli the batsman" given the performances put up by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) as a unit in IPL 2021. Pathan, while presenting on Star Sports, said that RCB skipper Kohli will be happier with his captaincy than his batting in this year's IPL. Kohli failed to perform consistently with the bat in IPL 2021, whereas the Challengers, as a team, looked formidable with five wins out of the seven games that they played before the postponement of the tournament.

Kohli scored just 198 runs in 7 games at an average of 33.00 and a strike rate of 121.47. The Bangalore-based team was sitting comfortably at the number 3 position on the points table before the cash-rich league was called off due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

"If you talk about this season, Virat Kohli the captain will be happier than Virat Kohli the batsman. The way the entire team has responded, the way the combination of Virat Kohli and Mike Hesson has worked, and the hard work they put in for the auction," Pathan said. 

'RCB fans will be disappointed' 

Pathan further added that the RCB fans will be a little disappointed with where the tournament has ended for them. Pathan said that Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers were looking in good touch, the bowling department lead by Harshal Patel was doing good and the team was performing extremely well. The former India international added that with the form RCB was playing in IPL 2021, they could have won their maiden trophy this year, but unfortunately, that has been eclipsed by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

After the COVID-19 virus infiltrated the IPL bio-bubble, the BCCI called off the tournament keeping in mind the safety and security of participants. IPL 2021 was postponed indefinitely on Tuesday after multiple players tested positive for COVID-19 in different camps with separate bio-bubbles. The BCCI has said it will look for a window to conduct the remainder of the season later this year, with some reports suggesting a September window in UAE before the ICC T20 World Cup. 

(Image Credit: IPL)