South Africa’s AB de Villiers will lead Royal Challengers Bangalore during the opening stages of the Indian Premier League if injured Virat Kohli is unable to play, head coach Daniel Vettori has stated.
The India skipper had injured his shoulder during the recently-concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia.
Kohli is set to join RCB on April 2 but Vettori has said that his availability will depend on the report of the Indian team’s medical staff.
“The likely scenario is that AB de Villiers will take over the duties, but we’ll answer that once we find out if Virat is out,” Vettori was quoted as saying by Cricketnext.
Vettori backed his youngsters to step up in the star batsman’s absence.
“It’s a huge asset for us that someone else can fill in those gaps. Sarfaraz has been really good. At the back end of the domestic season he started to put some runs on the board. Everyone knows how talented he is. With possible injuries, he could get an opportunity early on in the tournament,” Vettori added.
RCB face defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad in the opening match of the season on April 5.