Sometimes he was a bit of a loner in the team, sometimes he backed the wrong players: Former RCB coach on Virat Kohli

Season after season, fans and pundits have questioned why the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) fail to win a trophy despite having some of the biggest names in their side. Former RCB coach Ray Jennings recently revealed that Virat Kohli backed the wrong players at times and even had a few ideology clashes with him.

Jennings, who was the RCB head coach from 2009 to 2014, said that he had a set of plans for certain players, but Virat Kohli disagreed with it. Jennings has been RCB’s most successful coach till now, guiding them to two runners-up finishes – 2009 and 2011.

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“If I have to look back then I would say that in IPL there used to be 25-30 players (in the squad) and it was the coach’s duty to look after all the players. Sometimes he was a bit of a loner in the team. Sometimes, he backed the wrong players. But, you can’t blame him for that. I wanted certain players to bowl or bat in certain conditions/situations but he had different ideas,” Jennings told Cricket.com.

Virat Kohli and I bumped a few times: Jennings

RCB finished runners-up in seasons 2009, 2011 and 2016 (Image Credits: IPLT20.com)

Jennings further alleged that he had earmarked certain players, but they didn’t get to play often under Virat Kohli, who became RCB's full-time captain in 2013. Jennings, however, acknowledged that he has got an unbelievable cricket brain and he will soon lead RCB to their maiden IPL triumph.

“See, IPL is very different from international cricket. In six weeks’ time, some players can pick form and some may go awry. So, someone in the group needs to be there all the time. When I was there, certain players should have played more," Jennings said.

"You needed somebody around Virat to guide him (at that point in time). Of course, he and I bumped a few times but he is a good guy and a very quick learner. Nice to see him grow as a player and now as a captain. His mannerism is great. His best is yet to come,” Jennings added.

Virat Kohli single-handedly almost led RCB to IPL glory in 2016, scoring a whopping 973 runs including four centuries. But, they could not finish above sixth in the subsequent three seasons.

It’s time for the 13th edition of the cash-rich league and RCB will be playing under a new coach, Mike Hesson. It will be intriguing to see if Virat Kohli and co. can finally break their jinx.