Former Royal Challengers head coach Ray Jennings has alleged Virat Kohli often backed wrong players. Jennings, who had coached RCB between 2009 and 2014, said he wanted certain players to play a particular role in the side but Kohli had different plans.“If I have to look back then I would say that in IPL there used to be 25-30 players (in the squad) and it was the coach’s duty to look after all the players. Sometimes he was a bit of a loner in the team. Sometimes, he backed the wrong players. But, you can’t blame him for that. I wanted certain players to bowl or bat in certain conditions/situations but he had different ideas,” Jennings told Cricket.com.
Jennings, under whom RCB saw their best years, reaching the finals of the tournament twice, explained how leading an IPL side could be so much different. “See, IPL is very different from international cricket. In six weeks’ time, some players can pick form and some may go awry. So, someone in the group needs to be there all the time. When I was there certain players should have played more but he has different views. However, that is in the past and it’s nice to see him maturing day by day and he will start winning IPL trophies,” he said.
The South African, who worked with Kohli during his formative years in the IPL, had high praise for IPL’s current highest run-scorer, believing the RCB captain’s best is yet to come. “Virat Kohli has always been an unbelievable cricket brain. He sets very high standards (for himself) and we went along despite one or two problems. You needed somebody around Virat to guide him (at that point in time). Of course, he and I bumped a few times but he is a good guy and a very quick learner. Nice to see him grow as a player and now as a captain. His mannerism is great. His best is yet to come,” Jennings said.Raymond Vernon Jennings is a former South African cricketer. He was one of South Africa’s leading wicket-keepers during the suspension of the South African national team from international cricket during the apartheid era. He took over as coach of the Royal Challengers Bangalore for the second season of the IPL in 2009. RCB has been often tagged as under achievers of the IPL despite coming closing to winning the trophy many times.
