Picture Credit: Twitter
Ravi Shastri has made a huge statement ahead of Royal Challengers Bangalore's first match of the IPL 2022 season. Shastri, who spent a good amount of time with ex-India captain Virat Kohli during his stint as the India head coach, said that if Kohli opens in IPL 2022 the orange cap will be under threat.
Notably, this will be the first time in several years that Kohli will play for RCB purely as a batter. The right-handed batter had already announced his decision to step as the leader of the team midway through the last season and the franchise appointed Faf du Plessis as their skipper before this season.
"If Virat Kohli opens in this IPL 2022, then I’m sure Orange cap will be under threat," Shastri said on Star Sports.
However, the 59-year-old said that whether Kohli will open or bat at number 3 will depend upon the team combination.
"That depends on the balance of the team. I wouldn’t know what their middle order is, but just in case they’ve got a very strong middle order, then there’s no harm in Virat opening," he added.
RCB will play their first match of the season later on Sunday against the Punjab Kings.
Royal Challengers Bangalore squad for IPL 2022: Faf du Plessis, Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik, Shahbaz Ahmed, Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel, Josh Hazlewood, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Suyash Prabhudesai, Luvnith Sisodia, Aneeshwar Gautam, Jason Behrendorff, Karn Sharma, David Willey, Siddarth Kaul, Chama Milind, Mahipal Lomror, Sherfane Rutherford, Finn Allen.