Moeen Ali, a former all-rounder for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), recently revealed that the team almost had Virat Kohli take over as captain in 2019. During Gary Kirsten’s coaching stint, Moeen asserted that Parthiv Patel was close to being named RCB captain.
One of RCB’s most renowned captains, Virat Kohli, succeeded Daniel Vettori as captain in 2013 and remained in that position until 2021. RCB had a terrible run under his leadership, particularly from 2017 to 2019, finishing last in two of those three seasons despite his outstanding batting performances. Following RCB’s devastating defeat in the 2016 championship game, the bad seasons followed. Ali, who played for the RCB from 2018 to 2020, disclosed that serious talks were had concerning Virat Kohli replacement. He stated that Parthiv was being given serious consideration for the position.
“I believe he was. I have no doubt that he was. Parthiv was in position to be captain in the last year Gary Kirsten was there, which was, I believe, after the first year. His mind was as sharp as a cricket. At the time, it was the talk. Moeen told Sports Tak, “I’m sure he was seriously considered for the role, but I don’t know what happened or why it didn’t materialise.”
The captaincy move never materialised, despite internal negotiations. Up until 2021, when he resigned voluntarily due to workload concerns, Kohli continued to captain the team. In 2020, Kohli guided RCB to the playoffs while maintaining his position as the team’s top scorer. South African veteran Faf du Plessis took over as captain in the following seasons when Kohli declared in 2021 that he was stepping down.
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