This week, Mohammad Kaif admitted he was “shocked” with RCB’s choice to appoint Rajat Patidar as its new captain. Earlier this week, RCB named Patidar as their new captain ahead of the upcoming IPL season. Kaif raised eyebrows over the case as he felt it would have been Kohli to continue for RCB, especially since RCB had left out Faf du Plessis, who captained the team for three seasons.
In a video shared on X, he contended that Kohli would have obviously played a role in the appointment of Patidar.
“I thought that since they decided not to keep Faf du Plessis, Virat Kohli would be the guy. I thought there might have been some conversations from Kohli’s end.” Kaif wrote on X, “See the thing is, the team is being run by Virat Kohli. Even if he is not the captain, it’s on him since the team has to go for the players that he wants or plans to back. If Patidar is the captain, then for sure Kohli will have had a hand in that as well.”
Kaif noted that while the franchise has not won any trophies in 18 years, Kohli has nonetheless been with RCB for many years; and even without winning a trophy, he had built quite a reputation and understanding among the members of the franchise.
Kaif was inclined to believe that Patidar’s captaincy could be a long-term arrangement, as Kohli has been around the block, with thoughts of his role on the field.
“I was rather surprised that he did not accept captaincy. If a young captain is being brought into the team, then he must be around 37 years and even he prefers a young player as the captain for the long term and concentrate on his contributions,” Kaif said.
