IPL: 5 reasons why Virat Kohli should step down as RCB captain

It's been the same old story for Royal Challengers Bangalore and their fans. Despite overhauling their squad during the auction to try and rectify past mistakes, their campaign came to a bitter end with the loss against Rajasthan Royals.

Things seemed so promising for Virat Kohli and his men just prior to the start of the season, but all that positivity has faded away only to be replaced by an aura of despondency.

After yet another defeat, maybe it is time for RCB to either take the armband away from Kohli or for the Indian Test skipper to follow in the footsteps of Gautam Gambhir and hand it over to someone else ahead of the next season of IPL.

Here are five reasons Kohli should drop himself as RCB captain and let someone else skipper the side next season:

#5 Abysmal performances

RCB, over the past few seasons, have possessed one of the strongest squads on paper. However, they have not translated that into results on the field and the captain has to share a part of the blame for that. He has failed to inspire his troops during games and the players have performed far below their potential.

After all, a team containing the likes of AB de Villiers, Brendon McCullum, Quinton de Kock etc cannot be in the bottom half of the table.

RCB are one of only a handful of teams to have never lifted the IPL trophy yet and maybe a fresh face in charge could give them that extra push in the seasons to come. This season, they won just six games out of 14 and that is simply not good enough and Kohli needs to take a good hard look at himself and his players and take some tough decisions.

#4 Other captaincy options available

RCB have no dearth of captaincy candidates in their ranks. The likes of AB de Villiers and Brendon McCullum have led their respective nations with some success and there is no reason why they will not be able to replicate that in the IPL as well.

If RCB were looking for Indian options instead, Mandeep Singh and Parthiv Patel fit the bill. Mandeep is quite vocal on the field and Parthiv led Gujarat to a historic Ranji triumph, ample proof that the captain's armband can be handed to one of them without further ado if of course they are a part of the squad next season.

#3 Not addressing key issues

RCB's bowling woes were evident right from the start of the season. They relied on Umesh Yadav to carry most of the load while the other bowlers in the ranks, including Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Siraj, Corey Anderson etc simply did not offer enough.

They especially struggled to defend totals, with their death bowling an area of serious concern. Keeping that in mind, they should have roped in Tim Southee much earlier. The New Zealand international has a lethal yorker and is a great exponent of death bowling. However, he did not play in the first 6-7 games of RCB's campaign.

Moreover, Kohli's field placements and bowling changes left a lot to be desired. In a couple of matches, Corey Anderson was made to bowl at the death and he was taken to the cleaners. The batting order too kept changing, with De Kock, McCullum, Kohli and Vohra all tried at the top of the order with limited success.

#2 New captain, new ideas

We have seen how, in the past, the appointment of a new coach or captain has breathed new life into a stagnant team. In the same vein, if Kohli were to step down and someone else appointed in his stead, the RCB camp might just get the shot of adrenaline they need to get revitalised for the next season.

Simply hearing a new voice barking out instructions on the field could also help motivate the players to perform to their potential. Kohli has never led his side to the title and a new face might be able to do that.

#1 Free him up as a batsman

Kohli had a decent season with the bat - he was RCB's top scorer, averaging over 40 - however, he looked burdened by the pressure of leading the team at times.

He failed to see his team thorough in a couple of run-chases and also failed in their two biggest games of the campaign - against Sunrisers and Rajasthan. Easing him of the burden of captaincy would help him bat freely without pressure which would only bode well for the team going forward.