Virat Kohli Or Faf Du Plessis? Ex-India Cricketer Picks Favourite To Be RCB’s Highest Run-Getter In IPL 2023
New Delhi: Former India opener Aakash Chopra has weighed upon Virat Kohli over Faf du Plessis to be the highest run-getter for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the upcoming edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023.
Kohli has been in prolific form in the last six months scoring more than five centuries across formats in the international level. The former RCB skipper recently scored a ton against Australia in the drawn fourth Test in Ahmedabad earlier this month.
“Who will be the highest run-scorer for this team – Faf or Virat Kohli? I am going to go with Virat Kohli. Virat didn’t score runs last year. It cannot happen every year, so he will score runs and then the team will look slightly stronger,” Chopra told in a chat show on JIO Cinema.
“They have a very good captain in the form of Faf du Plessis. If we talk about the batting, Virat Kohli comes to open along with Faf du Plessis. They might not have a place for Anuj Rawat and then Rajat Patidar at No. 3, he has performed very well,” added Chopra.
Du Plessis, who used to play for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL before, joined RCB last year and was made the captain following Kohli’s decision to quit captaincy. The former South African skipper led RCB to the playoffs in IPL 2022.
He was also the franchise’s highest run-getter with 468 runs. It is certain that Kohli will open the batting with Du Plessis. Speaking about RCB’s playing XI, Chopra backed domestic players like Mahipal Lomror and Shahbaz Ahmed.
“After that, they play Glenn Maxwell. Then they gave chances to Mahipal Lomror and Shahbaz Ahmed, and then comes Dinesh Karthik, who performs the finisher’s role. The batting looks alright,” added the former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batter.
RCB had suffered a big blow ahead of the season after Englishman Will Jacks was ruled out following an injury. New Zealand star Michael Bracewell was roped in as replacement. Chopra said Bracewell is a good signing for RCB.
“Will Jacks went out and Michael Bracewell came in. Michael Bracewell is a gun player – understands the pulse of T20 cricket, a wonderful striker of the cricket ball although his bowling might work limitedly, especially at the Chinnaswamy,” Chopra concluded.