Royal Challengers Bangalore
Virat Kohli the captain will be happier than Virat Kohli the batsman, feels ex-India all-rounder Irfan Pathan after seeing the performance of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in now-suspended IPL 2021. Irfan believes the Bangalore outfit, with new recruits like Harshal Patel and Daniel Sams, responded well this year in their pursuit of maiden IPL title.
Though Kohli wasn't his best self, scoring 198 runs in 7 games at an average of 33, RCB won five out of their seven games and climbed third on the points table before the BCCI put a halt to the lucrative T20 league.
"If you talk about this season, Virat Kohli the captain will be happier than Virat Kohli the batsman," Irfan told Star Sports.
"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.
"They had gone after Maxwell. Before the auction, in the trading also they put in a lot of effort. We have spoken about Harshal Patel but they got Daniel Sams also, which means they thought if they had got the opportunity to play in Bangalore, the left-arm pacer Daniel Sams will be useful although he did not come of use. Harshal Patel did all the work," Pathan further said.
Irfan also said it was about to be 'Ee Sala Cup Namde' for the RCB fans who've been waiting to see the side lift its first IPL trophy. With players like AB de Villiers and Glenn Maxwell in good form, the RCB camp looked good enough to breeze through the playoffs.
"Where the tournament has stopped, the RCB fans will be a little disappointed because AB de Villiers was in good form, Maxwell was in good form, the team was doing very well, the bowling was very good.
"It was about to be 'Ee Sala Cup Namde' for them, at least from the fan's perspective, so it is expected that they will be a little disappointed but it has been a good year for them till now," added Irfan.
