IPL 2021: Royal Challengers Bangalore tactics: Virat Kohli to open, AB de Villiers as wicketkeeper

Add as a preferred source on Google

Bengaluru, March 25: Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Virat Kohli might only have confirmed last week that he would open the batting in IPL 2021, but team director Mike Hesson said the idea of Kohli playing as an opener was discussed before the mini-auction.

RCB is set to play the IPL 2021 opener against Mumbai Indians on April 9 in Chennai.

"Certainly we talked about Virat opening the batting before the auction, because that came in our auction planning and how we wanted to structure our lineup. Certainly, no surprise there, delighted that he got an opportunity to open for India the other day and showed everbody what he is capable of. We certainly know that, but it is just another reminder for everybody," said Hesson in a video posted on the official Twitter handle of RCB.

"Looking forward to Virat opening the batting with Devdutt Padikkal, left-right combination, obviously different types of players. We know Virat's record after he gets through the powerplay, he is phenomenal," he added.

Kohli had opened the batting for India in the fifth and final T20I against England last week. In that match, he went on to play an unbeaten knock of 80 as the hosts triumphed over England in the five-match series.

Role of AB de Villiers

Hesson also said AB de Villiers will once again be a wicketkeeping option for RCB in IPL 2021. For a few matches last year, De Villiers had donned the wicketkeeping gloves and he is expected to do the same this year if it fixes the balance of the playing XI.

"We were delighted with the fact that AB de Villiers loved wicketkeeping and he embraced it. He wanted to continue doing it, he is a real option, we now have a couple of other wicketkeeping options which is great. Mohammed Azharuddeen is a natural athlete with the gloves and in the field. We also have KS Bharat, he is a natural keeper, gives us different options as well," said Hesson.

"We are not going to make the commitment now to you guys as to who will do what. We are really pleased with the options we have got and AB is certainly one of those," he added.