RCB captains list for IPL 2022, 3 top players in front line

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will be finding it difficult to replace the former skipper Virat Kohli. With some big names available for signature during the IPL 2022 auction, the franchisee would want to bring in an experienced head to take charge of the team. RCB captain list for IPL 2022 is here, 3 top players in front line.

Former Delhi Capitals and Mumbai batter Shreyas Iyer made a sensational debut in Test cricket against New Zealand last year. Iyer was extremely unlucky not to make the final XI in the three-Test series against South Africa but his rise to national contention has been due to his performances in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Since Delhi Capitals were rechristened, Iyer led the franchise into the Playoff (in 2019) and then the final (in 2020).

An injury before the IPL 2021 meant that Rishabh Pant was made the new captain of the Capitals, who have subsequently not retained Iyer for the 2022 season. It is believed that Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) are looking at Iyer as a potential skipper with Virat Kohli stepping down from captaincy at the end of IPL 2021.

“Post Virat Kohli quitting the RCB captaincy, RCB are really interested in having Iyer as their next captain. In 87 IPL matches in his career, Iyer has scored 2,375 Runs at a strike-rate of 124. Iyer was getting a salary of Rs 7 crore from the Capitals till last year.

As per the report RCB are considering offering Manish Pandey a contract in the IPL 2022 super auction. The Karnataka cricketer has previously played for the RCB team in the first three seasons. The middle-order batsman has plenty of IPL experience and was the first Indian to score a century.

He also has the experience of captaining the Karnataka team in domestic tournaments like the Ranji Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy. So if the franchise is looking ahead at the next few seasons, Pandey could fit the bill since being the local boy. Talking about Manish Pandey IPL career, the cricketer has played a total of 154 matches scoring 3560 runs at an average of 30.68. He has played for teams like RCB.

Sahara Pune Warriors, Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunbrisers Hyderabad. After starting his career with RCB, Manish Pandey moved to Pune Warriors prior to IPL 2011 and continued his stint with the team even in IPL 2013. After Pune, Pandey headed to Kolkata Knight Riders who signed him at the IPL Player Auction 2014. In that season he played 16 matches scoring 401 runs.

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After spending four years at KKR, Manish Pandey looked for new pasture and Sunrisers Hyderabad did not waste time in getting to sign for them. During the 2018 auction, SRH made him the most expensive player paying 11 crores for his services. He was retained by the franchise for the 2019 edition too in which he scored 344 runs in 12 matches. In 2020, he showed his true form scoring 425 runs in 16 matches, but in the 2021 season, his performance took a major dip with him scoring 292 runs in 8 matches.

Speaking to ESPNcricinfo about RCB’s decision to retain three key campaigners on the retention day, ex-Bangalore icon Vettori branded Maxwell as the successor of Kohli at the franchise. “Look, I think Maxwell will be the likely heir to Kohli. He obviously produced [results] in this last year and he was an exceptional player for them. He has the experience of captaining the Melbourne Stars.

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We talked about most teams wanting to find a captain in their retained players. It has happened too often that teams know they’ve got a captain, they know they can lock that away and they don’t have to find one in the auction which can cloud your thinking at times,” Vettori said.  After a forgetful stint with Punjab Kings (PBKS), Maxwell joined forces with Kohli’s RCB for the 14th edition of the cash-rich league.

‘Big Show’ Maxwell fired RCB to the playoffs and the Aussie all-rounder was named as the franchise’s second most expensive pick on retention day. “I do believe Maxwell will be named captain. It could be [for] just one season, to see how it goes but it’s a pretty good stop-gap measure as they build to the future,” Vettori added. RCB fans need to wait till IPL 2022 mega auction for who will become captain for Bangalore based franchise.