Former South African cricketer Dale Steyn is of the view that Royal Challengers Bangalore should look "within their own borders" to succeed the skipper Virat Kohli in the IPL 2022. He believes that an ex-Bangalore cricketer can be named as RCB captain and feels that KL Rahul will make his return to the side in next year’s mega auction.
KL Rahul was with RCB in 2013 before joining SRH in 2014. Rahul returned to the Kohli-led RCB in 2016 but made a transfer to Punjab Kings in 2018, where he tasted much success. He amassed 670 runs in IPL 2020 and has already scored 400+ runs in this season.
RCB should look at a player within their own borders: Steyn
Dale Steyn, who is a former RCB player, said that if the side is looking at a long term-captain contender, they should go with a player from India. “If RCB are going to look at a long-term contender as captain, they should be looking within their own borders,” Steyn was quoted as saying to ESPNcricinfo.
Steyn added that Rahul should be given the captaincy after Virat Kohli steps down. “The name I’ve got is an ex-Bangalore player. It’s KL Rahul. I just have a feeling he is going to return back to Bangalore in next year’s auction,” Steyn added.
Steyn not in favour of naming AB de Villiers as RCB skipper
One man who can come to the mind of many people as a successor of Virat Kohli to captain RCB in IPL is AB de Villiers. The former South African player has been a vital cog for the Bangalore franchise since a long time. However, he himself is approaching the end of his T20 career and because of this, Dale Steyn believes the former South African should not be given the captaincy role for the RCB side.
“I don’t think AB de Villiers is the right way to go. I think he is a phenomenal player. But he is at the end of his career. I think he is a great leader,” Steyn said.
For the unversed, Virat Kohli, after announcing that he will step down from India’s T20I captaincy after 2021 T20 World Cup, has recently announced that he will step down from the RCB captaincy after the IPL 2021.