Mike Hesson

Mike Hesson Picture Credit: RCB

After the T20I series win over England, Indian skipper Virat Kohli announced that he will open the batting for RCB in the forthcoming IPL edition for the preparation of Twenty20 World Cup. Following the statement from their side's skipper, Royal Challengers Bangalore posted a photo of Virat Kohli on their official Instagram handle with the caption: “Guess who’s back at the top of the order.”

Mike Hesson responds with cheeky comment

Reacting to the post, RCB’s director of cricket operations, Mike Hesson, took a cheeky jibe by saying that he hoped that the people will now stop asking the question regarding the openers of the franchise. "Well that will hopefully stop one of the consistent questions," commented Hesson.

Last year, Kohli didn’t have the best of tournaments as he seemed to be going through a lean patch. He also couldn’t score heavily in the Test series against England. However, the 32-year old has bounced back strongly in the T20I and ODI series and looks to be in good touch before the start of IPL 14.

Kohli's best performances in IPL came as an opener in 2016

The move could pay rich dividends for the franchise as this will allow RCB to have an extra batsman or bowler in their playing XI.  Kohli's best outing in the IPL also came as an opener in 2016, when he scored 973 runs with 4 centuries to his name. Also, Kohli has notched all his five T20 centuries (all for RCB) while opening the batting.

IPL 2021 begins on April 9 with defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) taking on Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the tournament opener at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.