Moeen Ali Reveals Parthiv Patel Almost Became RCB Captain in 2019
Former England and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) all-rounder Moeen Ali recently shared some interesting insights about team leadership during his time with the franchise. In an interview, he mentioned that RCB was close to making Parthiv Patel their captain back in 2019, during Gary Kirsten’s tenure as head coach.
Moeen, who played for RCB from 2019 to 2020 before moving to Chennai Super Kings, spoke about Patel’s cricketing intelligence, saying, “Yes, I think he was. I’m quite sure he was.” He elaborated that after Kirsten’s first year with the team, there were serious discussions about Patel taking over as captain due to his strong understanding of the game.
Virat Kohli, known for being one of RCB’s longest-serving captains, took over leadership in 2013 after Daniel Vettori. He held the captaincy until 2021, stepping down due to the increasing demands of managing the team.
Kohli had a memorable season in 2016 when RCB reached the finals but faced difficulties in the following years. The team struggled to make it to the playoffs for three seasons, finishing last in both 2017 and 2019, and ending up sixth in 2018. Despite his impressive batting, Kohli faced criticism regarding team performance and captaincy.
However, RCB turned things around in 2020, reaching the playoffs as Kohli and coach Simon Katich developed a stronger partnership. After Kohli’s exit from the captaincy in 2021, Faf du Plessis took charge, and RCB has displayed improved consistency since then. Their long-awaited victory came earlier this year under Rajat Patidar’s leadership, with Kohli contributing significantly by scoring 657 runs.
On the other hand, Parthiv Patel last played in the IPL in 2019. He retired with an impressive record of 2,848 runs in 139 matches, earning titles with both Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians. Following his retirement, he joined Gujarat Titans as a mentor, where he quickly made a positive impact.
– End of Article
