New Delhi: Veteran Australian all-rounder Shane Watson has been picked by Royal Challengers Bangalore as the ideal man to lead the team in absence of injured Virat Kohli.
Earlier, it was suggested that South African ODI team captain AB de Villiers will likely lead the squad till the time Kohli is unfit, but today, it was announced that it would rather be Watson who will fulfill skipper's responsibility.
“Virat Kohli, the RCB Captain will be missing the first few matches of the VIVO Indian Premier League owing to an unfortunate shoulder injury. His presence on field is dependent on him passing the fitness tests and we hope for a strong recovery for him,” team chairman Amrit Thomas was quoted as saying by an official media release.
“In the interim, Shane Watson, will lead the RCB team as the stand-in captain. Shane has been one of the top performers and a great mentor for the team, making him an ideal choice to lead the team this season till Virat is back on field,” the release added.
The reason behind not named De Villiers as the captain could be because the South African, himself, is struggling with a back injury and might not be fit to feature in RCB's opening clash against Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 5. The same injury made him pull out of the finals of the Momentum Cup One Day Trophy – South Africa’s domestic one day tournament recently.
Watson, a two-time recipient of the player of the tournament award, has previously skippered the now-suspended Rajasthan Royals franchise.
Kohli, meanwhile, remains the league's all-time highest run-getter with 4110 runs at an impressive average of 38.41. He has missed just one game for the franchise in the nine years he has been a part of the team.
