IPL 2022 is all set for a grand kick-off with the auction of 590 players. Franchisees are busy preparing their shopping lists and weighing their purses. Two new franchisees are entering the fray to make the league even more exciting. Some of the existing teams have more than one challenge to deal with.

The IPL 2022 Mega Auction is scheduled to be held on February 12 and 13 in Bengaluru. Royal Challenger Bangalore (RCB) have retained three of their players – former skipper Virat Kohli, allrounder Glen Maxwell and pacer Mohammad Siraj and are set to form a new-look team in their hunt for the maiden IPL title.

However, the million or rather a billion-dollar question remains unanswered – who will be the captain of RCB for the upcoming season? With the surprise decision by Kohli to relinquish his responsibilities of captaincy after the last season, the team is left with two major tasks - one to buy the best of the lot from the available pool of players and the second and even bigger one is to find a new captain who can replace the mighty Kohli and take the team to the hitherto elusive title of IPL champions.

Former Indian wonder spinner Harbhajan Singh has tried to lighten RCB’s burden by suggesting that Kohli can be cajoled to reconsider his decision and return as the captain of the side. 

On his YouTube channel, Harbhajan says “RCB is making a new team and they will search for a good leader. But does Kohli want to take up the role? It will be a big challenge but I won’t be surprised if he agrees to be the captain for the next 1 – 2 years”. 

Singh has a valid logic there. With Kohli’s sudden decision of leaving the captaincy, RCB didn’t get the required chance to try anyone else as the leader. Now they need to groom a new player to lead the team. This would need sustained efforts of one or two seasons.

Talented players like Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan can fit the bill in the future provided RCB manages to get them in the auction. However, they too need time to gain that level of acceptance in the team where the transition to captaincy could be smooth. Kohli can play the most vital role in this transition under his guidance and planning.

Also, with AB de Villiers not available for the season, it becomes even riskier to hand over the reins to a younger player. So, a closer look at the overall team scenario strongly advocates the idea for RCB to bring Virat Kohli back as the captain at least for a couple of seasons.

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