It was natural for Kohli to captain RCB, says Vettori

Daniel Vettori, despite being the skipper, selflessly sat out a few matches last season so that the Royal Challengers Bangalore could accommodate Muttiah Muralitharan.

In his absence, Virat Kohli was handed the captaincy to groom the youngster for the role in the future. “I think it’s still about being a senior player and given an opportunity, it is about stepping up and contributing to the team,” noted the Kiwi when asked about his new role in the side. “Virat obviously has done well as a leader with Indian cricket and he has done a fantastic job with us when he stepped in last year and this is just a continuation of that and senior players like us, AB (de Villiers) and Chris Gayle will support (him),” he explained.

Vettori continued on Kohli: “I think he is incredibly committed and that is an outstanding quality for a leader. It speaks from the fact that he gives it everything. It is a natural transition for him to captain RCB and he seems to be doing a great job.”

Vettori was appointed the captain when Anil Kumble was RCB’s Chief Mentor. The former India leg-spinner has moved onto the Mumbai Indians camp in the same capacity. “Who knows, I have been here only for a day,” remarked Vettori on the effect of Kumble’s exit. “Anil has obviously been a part of RCB and has done a great job. Everyone moves on and he is not here and we just have to see. It’s still early days and maybe we could come back in a few weeks and then talk about that.”

On their opening opponents Mumbai Indians Vettori had this to say: “Mumbai like us have been a form team every year. They have a good combination all the way down and it is a great opening game for us and it will be a real test of where we are early on and we can assess ourselves in this competition depending upon how we play against Mumbai.”