Why is Virat Kohli leading RCB instead of Faf du Plessis in today’s IPL 2023 match vs RR?

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) batter Virat Kohli is once again leading his franchise against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) instead of regular skipper Faf du Plessis, this time at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday, April 23.

The 34-year-old confirmed that du Plessis will continue to play as an impact player since he is nursing a slight injury that he sustained during the game against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Monday.

Speaking at the toss, Virat Kohli said:

“Faf continues to play as an impact sub.”

Ahead of RCB's game against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) on Thursday, Kohli had said du Plessis wouldn't be able to field, which is why the team was playing him as an impact player.

Speaking at the toss, he said:

“Faf potentially can't be fielding today, so he'll be playing as an impact player.”

Kohli, meanwhile, looked happy despite losing the toss against the Royals since he wanted to bat first and put up runs on the scorecard. He said:

“I didn't say that to Sanju, but I'm very happy to bat first. We both get to do what we wanted.”

He will now look to guide RCB to back-to-back wins in IPL 2023 under his leadership after the Bangalore franchise won their last game by 24 runs against PBKS away from home.

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Rajasthan Royals opt to bowl against Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore

Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson won the toss and opted to bowl first against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Sunday. The franchise decided to field the same XI despite losing against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) by 10 runs in their last game.

Virat Kohli and Co. on the other hand, replaced Wayne Parnell with David Willey.

Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (w/c), Devdutt Padikkal, Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jason Holder, Trent Boult, Sandeep Sharma, Yuzvendra Chahal.

Royal Challengers Bangalore (Playing XI): Virat Kohli (c), Faf du Plessis, Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Maxwell, Shahbaz Ahmed, Dinesh Karthik (w), Suyash Prabhudessai, David Willey, Wanindu Hasaranga, Mohammed Siraj, Vijaykumar Vyshak.

Follow the RCB vs RR live score updates here.