There is often a lot of talk about how Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have never won a single IPL title so far. Despite having some of the biggest names of world cricket, their trophy cabinet is still empty. Moreover, they are also deemed as the perennial underachievers of the IPL.

RCB reached the final on three occasions – 2009, 2011 and 2016 but couldn’t cross the final hurdle. Apart from this, they’ve reached the playoffs only in two other seasons and that is something to worry about. In the last three years, RCB have finished with the wooden spoon twice (2017 and 2019). Hence, there is a lot of pressure on skipper Virat Kohli.

In fact, there have been calls for him to step down as captain as well. That may not happen in the near future, but there have been instances when he’s injured and opted out of a game. Thus, here we take a look a three possible players who can lead RCB successfully in Kohli’s absence.

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-331374" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Parthiv-Patel.jpg" alt="Parthiv Patel" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-331374" class="wp-caption-text">Parthiv Patel. (Photo: IANS)</figcaption>

This may be a pretty underrated option but Parthiv Patel can make a good leader. He’s shown that in the domestic circuit as well. The left-handed wicketkeeper-batsman is the captain of Gujarat and has led them successfully over the last few years.

Moreover, Patel can have a great view from behind the stumps. He has the best view of the field as well. The 34-year-old had a pretty good IPL last season as well. He was RCB’s third-highest run-getter (373 runs at a strike-rate of almost 140) behind Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers.

He’s also had a very good start to the Indian domestic season. Patel scored 442 runs in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, scoring five half-centuries. Captaincy has brought the best out of Patel as a batsman for his domestic side and it could well be the case in the IPL as well. Thus, he could be one of the candidates for captaincy if Kohli misses out.

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-335889" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/AB-de-Villiers-4.jpg" alt="AB de Villiers" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-335889" class="wp-caption-text">AB de Villiers. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption>

It’s a no-brainer that AB de Villiers will always be in the fray. There may not be any guarantee that he may take it up, but the South African star will always be around RCB’s leadership group. De Villiers is one of the biggest members of the RCB unit and is absolutely vital to their plans.

Having retired from international cricket and only a few T20 leagues to play around the world, the pressure of constant cricket throughout the year is a lot lesser on de Villiers. He is a lot more laid-back now and seems to be enjoying his cricket. Hence, it won’t be a bad time to give him the captaincy reins when Kohli is absent.

It is no secret that de Villiers has a great cricketing brain and is tactically very good. Moreover, his batting notches a level higher when he’s captain. He showed that in international cricket. De Villiers averages 63.91 in ODIs and 33.21 in T20Is as captain.

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-337197" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Tim-Southee.jpg" alt="Tim Southee" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-337197" class="wp-caption-text">Tim Southee. (Photo: Surjeet Yadav/IANS)</figcaption>

As soon as you see the name Tim Southee, you would argue that he’s not even a sure starter in the playing XI, how can he be the captain. But he might be the dark horse here. Southee has been with RCB for a couple of years now and has blown hot and cold.

However, the New Zealand fast bowler is his country’s preferred choice in the shortest format when Kane Williamson is rested or injured. Southee recently led the Kiwis to a 2-1 series win against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka a couple of months back and he has continued the good work against England as well.

Overall, the Kiwi fast bowler has a very good record as captain in T20I cricket. He’s won seven out of the nine games he’s led New Zealand. Moreover, also tends to get better when he’s leading the side. Hence, Southee can be a decent option as well.

There is often a lot of talk about how Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have never won a single IPL title so far. Despite having some of the biggest names of world cricket, their trophy cabinet is still empty. Moreover, they are also deemed as the perennial underachievers of the IPL.
RCB reached the final on three occasions – 2009, 2011 and 2016 but couldn’t cross the final hurdle. Apart from this, they’ve reached the playoffs only in two other seasons and that is something to worry about. In the last three years, RCB have finished with the wooden spoon twice (2017 and 2019). Hence, there is a lot of pressure on skipper Virat Kohli.
In fact, there have been calls for him to step down as captain as well. That may not happen in the near future, but there have been instances when he’s injured and opted out of a game. Thus, here we take a look a three possible players who can lead RCB successfully in Kohli’s absence.
<h3>1. Parthiv Patel</h3>
<figure id="attachment_331374" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-331374" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-331374" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Parthiv-Patel.jpg" alt="Parthiv Patel" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-331374" class="wp-caption-text">Parthiv Patel. (Photo: IANS)</figcaption></figure>
This may be a pretty underrated option but Parthiv Patel can make a good leader. He’s shown that in the domestic circuit as well. The left-handed wicketkeeper-batsman is the captain of Gujarat and has led them successfully over the last few years.
Moreover, Patel can have a great view from behind the stumps. He has the best view of the field as well. The 34-year-old had a pretty good IPL last season as well. He was RCB’s third-highest run-getter (373 runs at a strike-rate of almost 140) behind Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers.
He’s also had a very good start to the Indian domestic season. Patel scored 442 runs in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, scoring five half-centuries. Captaincy has brought the best out of Patel as a batsman for his domestic side and it could well be the case in the IPL as well. Thus, he could be one of the candidates for captaincy if Kohli misses out.

<h3>2. AB de Villiers</h3>
<figure id="attachment_335889" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-335889" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-335889" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/AB-de-Villiers-4.jpg" alt="AB de Villiers" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-335889" class="wp-caption-text">AB de Villiers. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
It’s a no-brainer that AB de Villiers will always be in the fray. There may not be any guarantee that he may take it up, but the South African star will always be around RCB’s leadership group. De Villiers is one of the biggest members of the RCB unit and is absolutely vital to their plans.
Having retired from international cricket and only a few T20 leagues to play around the world, the pressure of constant cricket throughout the year is a lot lesser on de Villiers. He is a lot more laid-back now and seems to be enjoying his cricket. Hence, it won’t be a bad time to give him the captaincy reins when Kohli is absent.
It is no secret that de Villiers has a great cricketing brain and is tactically very good. Moreover, his batting notches a level higher when he’s captain. He showed that in international cricket. De Villiers averages 63.91 in ODIs and 33.21 in T20Is as captain.
<h3>3. Tim Southee</h3>
<figure id="attachment_337197" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-337197" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-337197" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Tim-Southee.jpg" alt="Tim Southee" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-337197" class="wp-caption-text">Tim Southee. (Photo: Surjeet Yadav/IANS)</figcaption></figure>
As soon as you see the name Tim Southee, you would argue that he’s not even a sure starter in the playing XI, how can he be the captain. But he might be the dark horse here. Southee has been with RCB for a couple of years now and has blown hot and cold.
However, the New Zealand fast bowler is his country’s preferred choice in the shortest format when Kane Williamson is rested or injured. Southee recently led the Kiwis to a 2-1 series win against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka a couple of months back and he has continued the good work against England as well.
Overall, the Kiwi fast bowler has a very good record as captain in T20I cricket. He’s won seven out of the nine games he’s led New Zealand. Moreover, also tends to get better when he’s leading the side. Hence, Southee can be a decent option as well.

There is often a lot of talk about how Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have never won a single IPL title so far. Despite having some of the biggest names of world cricket, their trophy cabinet is still empty. Moreover, they are also deemed as the perennial underachievers of the IPL.
RCB reached the final on three occasions – 2009, 2011 and 2016 but couldn’t cross the final hurdle. Apart from this, they’ve reached the playoffs only in two other seasons and that is something to worry about. In the last three years, RCB have finished with the wooden spoon twice (2017 and 2019). Hence, there is a lot of pressure on skipper Virat Kohli.
In fact, there have been calls for him to step down as captain as well. That may not happen in the near future, but there have been instances when he’s injured and opted out of a game. Thus, here we take a look a three possible players who can lead RCB successfully in Kohli’s absence.
<h3>1. Parthiv Patel</h3>
<figure id="attachment_331374" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-331374" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-331374" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Parthiv-Patel.jpg" alt="Parthiv Patel" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-331374" class="wp-caption-text">Parthiv Patel. (Photo: IANS)</figcaption></figure>
This may be a pretty underrated option but Parthiv Patel can make a good leader. He’s shown that in the domestic circuit as well. The left-handed wicketkeeper-batsman is the captain of Gujarat and has led them successfully over the last few years.
Moreover, Patel can have a great view from behind the stumps. He has the best view of the field as well. The 34-year-old had a pretty good IPL last season as well. He was RCB’s third-highest run-getter (373 runs at a strike-rate of almost 140) behind Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers.
He’s also had a very good start to the Indian domestic season. Patel scored 442 runs in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, scoring five half-centuries. Captaincy has brought the best out of Patel as a batsman for his domestic side and it could well be the case in the IPL as well. Thus, he could be one of the candidates for captaincy if Kohli misses out.

<h3>2. AB de Villiers</h3>
<figure id="attachment_335889" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-335889" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-335889" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/AB-de-Villiers-4.jpg" alt="AB de Villiers" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-335889" class="wp-caption-text">AB de Villiers. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
It’s a no-brainer that AB de Villiers will always be in the fray. There may not be any guarantee that he may take it up, but the South African star will always be around RCB’s leadership group. De Villiers is one of the biggest members of the RCB unit and is absolutely vital to their plans.
Having retired from international cricket and only a few T20 leagues to play around the world, the pressure of constant cricket throughout the year is a lot lesser on de Villiers. He is a lot more laid-back now and seems to be enjoying his cricket. Hence, it won’t be a bad time to give him the captaincy reins when Kohli is absent.
It is no secret that de Villiers has a great cricketing brain and is tactically very good. Moreover, his batting notches a level higher when he’s captain. He showed that in international cricket. De Villiers averages 63.91 in ODIs and 33.21 in T20Is as captain.
<h3>3. Tim Southee</h3>
<figure id="attachment_337197" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-337197" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-337197" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Tim-Southee.jpg" alt="Tim Southee" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-337197" class="wp-caption-text">Tim Southee. (Photo: Surjeet Yadav/IANS)</figcaption></figure>
As soon as you see the name Tim Southee, you would argue that he’s not even a sure starter in the playing XI, how can he be the captain. But he might be the dark horse here. Southee has been with RCB for a couple of years now and has blown hot and cold.
However, the New Zealand fast bowler is his country’s preferred choice in the shortest format when Kane Williamson is rested or injured. Southee recently led the Kiwis to a 2-1 series win against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka a couple of months back and he has continued the good work against England as well.
Overall, the Kiwi fast bowler has a very good record as captain in T20I cricket. He’s won seven out of the nine games he’s led New Zealand. Moreover, also tends to get better when he’s leading the side. Hence, Southee can be a decent option as well.

RCB reached the final on three occasions – 2009, 2011 and 2016 but couldn’t cross the final hurdle.

IPL: 3 Players who can successfully lead RCB in Virat Kohli's absence

There is a lot of pressure on skipper Virat Kohli. In fact, there have been calls for him to step down as captain as well. That may not happen in the near