"I won't be surprised if he agrees to captain the team for 1-2 years" - Harbhajan Singh expects Virat Kohli to return as RCB captain 

Former India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh believes Virat Kohli's days of captaining Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) are not over. The 33-year-old stepped down from the role as the franchise's captain after the 2021 IPL.

RCB are one of the few franchises who do not have a designated captain heading into the mega auction. They retained Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell and Mohammad Siraj and are likely to look for captaincy candidates among the players in the auction pool. While Harbhajan Singh admits that the franchise will look for a captain in the option, he believes Kohli is the best option RCB has.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Harbhajan said:

"RCB have had big names in the past, but they are yet to win a title. I think Kohli will have to captain RCB once again. I don't think RCB will get a better captain than him. RCB is building a new team and I'm sure they would like to have a good captain leading it. Now it's up to Kohli whether he wants to do this again or not. I won't be surprised if he agrees to captain the team for 1-2 years. In that time he can also groom the next captain."

Kohli has also relinquished his captaincy role with Team India following the T20 World Cup. He reportedly took the decision to step down as RCB captain to ease his workload.

"Ishan Kishan or Shreyas Iyer would be good options for RCB" - Harbhajan Singh

Speaking about captaincy prospects in the auction pool, Harbhajan Singh named Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan as good options among Indian players. However, he admitted it would be tough to sign them considering the high demand for their services among other franchises. Harbhajan said:

"Kishan or Iyer would be good options for RCB, but it would be very difficult to get. They really have good futures ahead of them."

Among the overseas candidates, Harbhajan Singh enlisted the likes of David Warner, Aaron Finch and Eoin Morgan as good options for captaincy roles. The former player concluded:

"Warner is an excellent option when it comes to overseas captaincy prospects, he will score a lot of runs in that ground. He will also lead the team well, has plenty of experience. FInch is another option, just led Australia to the T20 World Cup, has not done much with the bat, but is a good captain. RCB will have an eye on Morgan as well. He is a really good captain, I've been with him in KKR. He is a very calm person, so not a bad option."

Aaron Finch and Eoin Morgan have been associated with the RCB in the past, albeit for short spells devoid of any leadership role. The IPL mega auction is scheduled to take place in Bengaluru on February 12 and 13.