"I think that will be the easiest solution" - Ajit Agarkar wants Virat Kohli to captain RCB in IPL 2022

Former India pacer Ajit Agarkar believes Virat Kohli should be reinstated as the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2022).

Ajit Agarkar feels it would be ideal for the franchise if the batter is reappointed as captain, given that he is ready to take up the role again.

Speaking on the Star Sports show 'Game Plan: IPL auction special', the former India cricketer highlighted how RCB have often relied on their top three batters. He argued that if the franchise continues to invest excessively in one or two players, they will not be able to win the championship.

Ajit Agarkar said:

“If Virat Kohli can take over the captaincy and if he is happy to do it and if he has the energy to do it, I think that will be the easiest solution for them. At the end of the day, we have seen RCB over the years; they haven’t invested enough money in making a proper team of 12, 13 or 14 players with enough depth.

"It has always been dependent on the top three, not enough middle-order players; and if you don’t have the money, you can’t do that again. So if you break the bank for one player, doesn’t matter how good he is, (he) will win you games but will never win you competitions.”

It is worth mentioning that Kohli had been at the helm of the RCB side for nine years. He relinquished the captaincy after the last edition of the cash-rich league. The 33-year-old has also stepped down as skipper of the national side across formats.

"But you still have to build now for the future for more teams" - Ajit Agarkar

Ajit Agarkar reckoned that the two new franchises being able to rope in players ahead of the auction would make things easier for them, as the newer teams in the past didn't get such an option.

He pointed out how older teams would have wanted to retain more than four players, which they could not because of the mega-auction. The cricketer-turned-commentator feels that franchises must focus on signing quality Indian players.

He stated:

"You have got some of the big names, like Hardik Pandya, KL Rahul, those sorts of names that you have been able to retain, which was not the case before when the two new teams had come earlier, which was a lot harder on those new teams.

"So I am not sure if it’s even-stevens at the moment. It’s a good thing, but you still have to build now for the future for more teams. Older teams are able to only retain their four players, which is never easy, say for the likes of Mumbai Indians or some of the stronger teams because they have more than four players that they would have wanted to retain."

The much-awaited IPL 2022 auction is scheduled to take place in Bangalore on February 12 and 13. A total of 590 cricketers will go under the hammer in the span of two days.