RCB will be tough to beat with Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers back: Michael Clarke
Kohli was declared fit on Thursday by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) medical team and is set to return for Mumbai Indians clash at the M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru today.
He suffered an injury to his right shoulder during the first day of the third Test against Australia last month. The injury ruled him out of the fourth and final Test, which India won to capture the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2-1.
Kohli, who scored a record-breaking 973 runs in 2016 season, was advised a rehabilitation after that due to which he missed the first three matches of RCB, who managed to win just once.
His teammate and South Africa's 360 degree batsman AB de Villiers had also missed the first two games due to a back injury he suffered during a 50-overs domestic tournament in South Africa.
His brilliant innings helped a slow-starting Bangalore set a competitive 148 for four total but Kings XI Punjab proved too strong in their reply, easing to an eight-wicket victory with 33 balls to spare.
De Villiers had finished as the third highest run-getter in 2016 with 687 runs in 16 matches.
Michael Clarke, in an interview with India Today's Boria Majumdar, said the return of both Kohli and De Villiers will strengthen RCB,, who has managed only one win in three matches so far. Clarke also opined to bring back Chris Gayle in the playing XI.
EXCERPTS:
Boria Majumdar: The whole of India's best friend, India's talisman..all of us were waiting for Virat Kohli to come back and he is..thoughts, expectations.
Michael Clarke: Expectations exactly the same every time he walks out to the field..I think he will make runs. I think RCB has missed his leadership. Shane Watson's done a fantastic job, but don't get me wrong, Virat is the RCB captain and I think they'll welcome him back with open arms. I hope he opens the batting. That's the perfect position for him. I would say bring Chris Gayle back in as well..I think those two are the right opening combination for RCB. I still think RCB's team is exceptional and they can compete to win the IPL..they are that good. Having Virat Kohli plus AB de Villiers back in the team, they gonna be tough to beat.
Boria: We've seen so far one out of three wins. Without Virat Kohli at the top they looked a little fragile.
Clarke: If you've the consistency of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers, they would had a set plan at the start of the tournament..how they gonna play, their batting order, how they'll win the game, where they will use the spin and fast bowlers, who is gonna field where..an ideal plan. And when you lose your two biggest players and add KL Rahul, I think over 70% of the runs scored last year for RCB was from those three players.
Boria: But Virat not only Virat the batsman, Virat the captain. He has to play Tymal Mills, has to play ABD, Billy Stanlake has done well. So who does he play - Chris Gayle or Shane Watson?
Clarke: Well, I think you are working at do you want a second fast bowler in Billy Stanlake or do you want the all-rounder in Shane Watson. To be Chris Gayle's got to play.
Boria: You are saying, Chris Gayle, ABD, Tymal Mills and one of these two.
Clarke: Then I am probably saying Shane Watson; which is tough on Billy Stanlake, unless conditions suit a second fast bowler. Well, he can open the bowling. I would be going with the experience of Watson but I would definitely bring Chris Gayle back in and open the batting with him and Virat Kohli.
Boria: When Virat has to drop someone either a Gayle or a Watson, how do you communicate that and can that result in egos?
Clarke: That's the hardest part of the job as captain. If you feel its for the betterment of the team, you gonna make that tough decision. The one thing I always felt as a captain is that any decision I make is never gonna be personal..it was always based around what I felt was best for the team.
Boria: We have seen Rohit Sharma come out of injury and struggle. Are you expecting Virat Kohli to straight away get into groove or do you think he'll take a bit of time?
Clarke: I think he will score runs straight away exactly like what we saw with AB de Villiers.
No comments: