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IPL 2021: Sunil Gavaskar compares Virat Kohli RCB captaincy stint end with two greats of game

Legendary Sunil Gavaskar compared Virat Kohli's captaincy stint at Royal Challengers Bangalore with two of the greatest batters to have played the sport.

Virat Kohli and Sunil Gavaskar

Bengaluru, October 12: Legendary Sunil Gavaskar compared Virat Kohli's captaincy stint at Royal Challengers Bangalore with two of the greatest batters to have played the sport.

Kohli, who had announced that the ongoing season would be his final as captain in IPL, ended his run as the skipper of RCB without lifting a title with the side after losing the IPL 2021 Eliminator by 4 wickets against Kolkata Knight Riders on Monday (October 11).

After Kohli failed to lift an IPL trophy in his 9th season as skipper of RCB, former India captain Gavaskar said everybody wants to finish on a high, but doesn't always end that way and he drew comparision to Sir Don Bradman's last match.

"Everybody wants to finish on a high. But these things never always happen according to your or fans' wishes. Look at what happened to Sir Don Bradman. Just four runs were needed in his last innings and he gets out for a zero," Gavaskar said on Star Sports.

Virat Kohli era as RCB captain ends; The Balance sheet: Strong emotions, loyalty, bare cupboardVirat Kohli era as RCB captain ends; The Balance sheet: Strong emotions, loyalty, bare cupboard

Gavaskar further gave another example about how Indian batting icon Sachin Tendulkar would have wanted to score a century in his 200th Test match.

"Tendulkar would have wanted to finish with a hundred, but he got 79 in Mumbai, his 200th Test match. 79 is not bad. But somebody who is used to making hundreds would have wanted to get those extra 21 runs and end his Test career there," Gavaskar added.

"The script is not always written that way. Not everybody has this great fortune of going on a high."

In 2016, Kohli scored 973 runs from 16 matches, the highest ever in a single IPL season. And Gavaskar used that as an example to state one can't question his contribution to the team.

"But can one ever dispute what he has done for RCB? He has done magnificently. There was one year when he got 973 runs, 27 runs short of 1000 runs. Nobody has done it, nobody looks like ever getting to 1000 runs."

Kohli captained RCB to 66 wins in 140 matches, while the team suffered 70 defeats during the stint and the remaining four ended in No Result. In the 2016 edition, RCB came the closest to lifting a trophy, but finished runners-up after 8-run defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Gavaskar also said that Kohli has given Royal Challengers Bangalore that kind of a profile which only a few cricketers can manage for their respective franchises despite not winning an IPL trophy.

"He has given RCB that kind of profile, that brand recognition that very (few) cricketers have given to their franchise," Gavaskar said.

Following his last match as captain, Kohli said it was a disappointing end, but he is proud of the character shown by the team throughout the season.

"Not the result we wanted but I am so proud of the character shown by the boys throughout the tournament. A disappointing end but we can hold our heads high. Thank you to all the fans, management and the support staff for your constant support," Kohli tweeted.

Story first published: Tuesday, October 12, 2021, 17:57 [IST]
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