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Virat Kohli owes 1 IPL trophy to Royal Challengers Bangalore: Sehwag

Written by Vipin Darwade

Former India captain and opener Virender Sehwag on Saturday said that Virat Kohli owes one Indian Premier League (IPL) title to the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) since he enjoys such a huge fan following.

Speaking to PTI, Sehwag said: “IPL is important for every captain, but I think more so for Virat, as with his huge fan base, everyone wants Virat to win a trophy for the Bangalore franchise. If not multiple times then at least once in his tenure as captain.”

“This has been a strange year off the field due to the pandemic and who knows it might be a different year for Bangalore from previous seasons and they go on to win the trophy,” added the 42-year-old.

Virat Kohli, who will step down as India T20I captain after the World Cup is still chasing the elusive ICC trophy, while his RCB team continue to chase their maiden IPL title.

Just like that previous edition of the IPL in the UAE, Sehwag again feels that Mumbai and Delhi are favourites to win the tournament.

“Since the second half has been shifted to Dubai and Abu Dhabi, I think Delhi and Mumbai will again be favourites and the five-time champions are slightly ahead,” he said.

Sehwag reckons that pitches in UAE will be slower and thus Chennai and Bengaluru might face some problems.

“Chennai’s average score in India was 201 during the first phase but I think when it comes to UAE tracks, they would be lacking a bit in batting firepower. If I have to pick one team, that will be Mumbai.”

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Vipin Darwade