On the opening day of the second phase of Indian Premier League 2021 in the UAE, Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli announced that he will be stepping down as RCB captain following the culmination of the season. Kohli said that workload management was the main reason behind his decision to step down as Royal Challengers Bangalore captain. Kohli had taken over RCB's captaincy in 2013 to succeed Daniel Vettori and has been leading India in all three formats since 2017. Now there have been massive speculations over who would be the next skipper of the franchise. While many names have come up like David Warner, Steve Smith, but latest reports suggest that KL Rahul or Shreyas Iyer is being looked at as Kohli’s successor. As per a report on DNA, Rahul and Iyer are the hot contenders to take up the vacant position.
With a new captain in place and the mega auction also due, it would be a new-look RCB that would take the field next season. Fans would hope it is a successful transition. Both Rahul and Iyer have prior experience in leading IPL sides. Both the India stars have not won the coveted crown and would hope to help RCB win it. Despite Rahul’s superb form with the bat, Punjab Kings have not won the title. The same is the case with Iyer. He led the Delhi franchise to their first-ever final in 13 years in the 2020 edition but an unfortunate injury before IPL 2021 and meant he wasn’t part of India’s T20 World Cup squad. For Iyer, it would be a big boost for his career to work alongside Kohli at RCB. It would help Iyer grow as a cricketer. Iyer is likely to leave Delhi Capitals (DC) ahead of the new season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2022. The star India batter was replaced as captain by wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant for the 2021 season of the league and is keen on looking for a leadership role elsewhere in the IPL.As per a report in the Times of India, Iyer wants a leadership role and is unlikely to get it at Delhi Capitals, who were led to the playoffs by Pant this season. Thus, Iyer will be making himself available in the mega auction that is set to take place ahead of IPL 2022. Iyer had joined Delhi Capitals in 2015 and has been with the franchise for seven seasons now. He was appointed as the captain midway through the 2018 season when Gautam Gambhir decided to step down from captaincy after the team's poor start to the season.
