IPL 2021 Playoffs | Virat Kohli has given brand recognition to Royal Challengers Bangalore, says Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar stated that Virat Kohli has been magnificent for RCB
|| Courtesy - IPL
Sunil Gavaskar is of the opinion that Virat Kohli has given brand recognition to his franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). The former Indian cricketer further stated Kohli has played magnificent knocks for the Bangalore-based franchise during his stint as RCB captain since 2013.
Ahead of RCB’s first match in the second phase of IPL 2021, Virat Kohli had announced that he will step down as the Bangalore-based franchise’s captain after the conclusion of the tournament. However, Kohli’s stint as RCB captain ended after his side were knocked out of the IPL 2021 by Kolkata Knight Riders in the Eliminator on Monday in Sharjah. Notably, the 32-year-old ended his journey as RCB captain without a single IPL trophy.
Meanwhile, Sunil Gavaskar has backed Virat Kohli and stated that the right-hand batsman has given brand recognition to the Bangalore-based franchise during his term as the captain of the franchise. He further added that every cricketer wants to end their captaincy on a high note, but it does not always happen according to the wishes of the fans.
"He has given RCB that kind of profile, that brand recognition that very cricketers have given to their franchise,"Â Gavaskar said on Star Sports.
"Everybody wants to finish on a high. But these things never always happen according to your or fans’ wishes. Look at what happened to Sir Don Bradman. Just four runs were needed in his last innings and he gets out for a zero. Sachin Tendulkar would have wanted to finish with a hundred, he got 79 (Tendulkar scored 74) in Mumbai, his 200th Test match. 79 is not bad but somebody who is used to making hundreds would have wanted to get those extra 21 runs and then end his Test career there," he added.
Sharing his thoughts on Virat Kohli’s IPL captaincy, Gavaskar reckoned that despite not winning an IPL tournament, Kohli has played magnificent knocks for the franchise. The former Indian cricketer further cited Kohli’s 973 runs in IPL 2016, which helped RCB to reach the finals in the same season.
"The script is not always written that way. Not everybody has this great fortune of going on a high. But can one ever dispute what he has done for RCB? He has done magnificently. There was one year when he got 973 runs, 27 runs short of 1000 runs. Nobody has done it, nobody looks like ever getting to 1000 runs."
Virat Kohli took over the RCB captaincy from Daniel Vettori in 2013 and led the Bangalore-based franchise in 140 matches winning 66 out of it. Under Kohli's captaincy, RCB reached the IPL finals in 2016, but they ended up as runner-up of the tournament. Royal Challengers Bangalore had qualified for the playoffs in the last two seasons, but the franchise could not make it into the finals.Â
