IPL 2022 | Reports: Manish Pandey to replace Virat Kohli as Royal Challengers Bangalore captain

Ahead of the second leg of IPL 2021, Virat Kohli had announced of him stepping down as Royal Challengers Bangalore captain after the conclusion of the 14th edition of the tournament. The Bangalore-based franchise made it into the playoffs in the IPL 2021, but suffered defeat against Kolkata Knight Riders in the Eliminator. 

RCB have retained Kohli, Glenn Maxwell and Mohammed Siraj for the upcoming edition of the tournament. However, the biggest challenge for the Bangalore-based franchise will be the selection of the captain.

According to several reports, RCB is looking forward to purchasing Manish Pandey in IPL 2022 mega auction, and the right-hand batsman is likely to replace Kohli as the franchise captain for the upcoming seasons. Notably, Pandey was part of the RCB squad in 2009, and he became the first Indian to score an IPL century while he played for the franchise. The Karnataka batsman has also featured for Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders, Pune Warriors India, and Sunrisers Hyderabad in the lucrative league. 

Pandey has vast experience of leading the Karnataka cricket team in domestic tournaments like the Ranji Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy. Recently, the 32-year-old led his side to the finals of the recently concluded SMAT 2021 competition. 

Pandey has played 154 IPL matches so far, scoring 3,560 runs at an average of 30.68, and was a part of Kolkata Knight Riders' winning campaign in 2014.