RCB told to 'bring Virat Kohli back as captain' with MS Dhoni reminder if they fail to reach IPL 2024 Playoffs

Veteran India spinner Harbhajan Singh has given a piece of bold advice to Royal Challengers Bengaluru to re-appoint Virat Kohli as their captain after IPL 2024, as he feels they need an Indian player to lead the side. RCB, who started the season on a dull note, have bounced back well with five wins on a trot to keep the playoffs hopes alive. However, they have yet to rely on other teams' results to get into the next round of the season.

There is a high chance of a big overhaul in RCB next season with several big overseas stars failing to live up to the expectations this year. Meanwhile, Kohli has been in incredible form this season and leading the Orange Cap tally with 661 runs in 13 matches so far. Kohli's positive intent with the bat has been the standout feature in his batting this season as he is playing with an attacking approach against the spinners in the middle overs to up the ante when required.

The former skipper still remains a big part of the leadership group at RCB as he has been assisting Faf du Plessis with the field replacements and has seen boosting the morale of bowlers during the tough times.

Harbhajan said that Kohli is a big leader like MS Dhoni, and he has a big impact on his franchise.

"If they don't qualify, they should look to get some Indian guy. Why not bring Virat Kohli back as captain. As Dhoni has a lot of impact in Chennai, Virat Kohli is a big leader, he knows the kind of cricket they need to play. Now they are playing with a lot of aggression, lot of intent and that is what Virat Kohli brings. I would like to see Virat Kohli leading the side going forward," Harbhajan said on Star Sports.

Kohli relinquished RCB's captaincy after IPL 2021 to manage his workload. Under his leadership, the franchise reached the final in 2016 edition.

Meanwhile, the RCB star batter has smashed a total of 33 sixes so far, the second-highest by a batter next to SRH's Abhishek Sharma (35 sixes). He has more sixes than Sunil Narine (32), Travis Head, Heinrich Klaasen and Riyan Parag (31), Australian sensation Jake Fraser McGurk and Shivam Dube (28), Rajat Patidar (27) and Rishabh Pant (25). This is the only second time Kohli has crossed 30 sixes in a single season of IPL, with his highest peak coming in 2016 when he smashed 38 sixes in 16 games.