IPL 2023: Virat Kohli Shouldn’t Open The Batting For Royal Challengers Bangalore, Feels Irfan Pathan

RCB and Virat Kohli are getting ready to take on Lucknow Super Giants in match No. 15 of IPL 2023 in Bengaluru tonight.

Photo: ANI

Virat Kohli gave up the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captaincy last season and now former India cricketer Irfan Pathan wants him to give up the opening position in the team as well. This has come in spite of the fact that the Kohli opened the IPL 2023 season with a century stand for the opening wicket with skipper Faf du Plessis against five-time champions Mumbai Indians. Kohli top-scored with 82 not out against MI in a massive eight-wicket win for RCB.

Now, RCB are getting ready to take on Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in their second home game of the IPL 2023 season at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Monday. RCB have won one match and lost one, to Kolkata Knight Riders, so far.

Former India opener Sunil Gavaskar believes that RCB bank heavily on Kohli and if he scores well, the chances of their win increases. “This year RCB are banking on Kohli. If he plays well in every match, then the chance of RCB winning increases. Virat is one of the biggest superstars; not only RCB but fans of every team would want to see runs coming out of his bat. But other players in the team will have to lift their game and share the load,” Gavaskar told Star Sports channel.

Pre-match prep done right! __#PlayBold #____RCB #IPL2023 pic.twitter.com/zWMOJ7tETR — Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) April 9, 2023

Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan claims the Delhi cricketer isn’t the best choice to open the innings for RCB. “This year is looking different for RCB as runs are coming out of Virat Kohli’s bat in the first few games. But it is no guarantee that he will continue scoring at the same pace (or for the remainder of the season) and win you every game. In a tournament like this, other batters in the RCB squad will have to be ready for the challenge and justify their talents and roles. Also, I don’t think Kohli should be opening the batting for RCB,” Irfan Pathan said.

Former Australia all-rounder Tom Moody also stated that the RCB side looks overly dependent upon Kohli and Du Plessis, which is never a good sign for any team in a competition like IPL. “To me, RCB’s middle order looks weak, and teams will aim to take advantage of this fact and pick up the wickets of Kohli and Faf early. If the opposition teams manage to take a couple of wickets in the powerplays, they’ll be (very much) in the game against RCB,” Moody felt.