File photo of Virat Kohli
There will be pressure on Virat Kohli as the Royal Challengers Bangalore eye a strong comeback after the defeat against Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2021 Indian premier League.
Kohli's batting form remains a big concern; furthermore, his decision to step down from RCB captaincy at the end of the season also adds to significant pressure of delivering a maiden IPL title for the franchise.
RCB had a humiliating return to IPL when they were bundled out for just 92 by KKR in their first match of the Phase-2. It was RCB's sixth-lowest total in IPL, as they lost to the Eoin Morgan-led KKR by nine wickets.
After opting to bat, Kohli (5 runs off 4 balls) fell prey to pacer Prasidh Krishna in just the second over of the match. The 32-year-old batsman was trapped plum in front and a bad review call didn't help his case either.
Kohli seemed to emanate shades of a player who has just decided to step down as the captain of RCB after the IPL 2021.
Virat was appointed the skipper of RCB ahead of the 2013 IPL season as a successor to outgoing captain Daniel Vettori. Since then, the side has unsatisfactory won 62 of the 132 matches under him, to go with 66 losses and 4 no-results.
