IPL 2022 - "Always Admired": Virat Kohli's Big Praise For New RCB Captain Faf du Plessis

Batting stalwart Virat Kohli may have stepped down as Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper, but he says he "can still be a leader within the team and drive it forward towards success" in the IPL season which kicked off on Saturday. After giving the hot seat to Faf du Plessis, Kohli will take the field without wearing the captain's armband for RCB for the first time since 2012.

"You can still be a leader within the team, drive the team forward towards success and winning trophies and titles, but I take a lot of pride in contributing for the team," Kohli said in an interview posted on RCB website.

"That for me is a very exciting space to be in because you are an individual who's part of a team, whether you're a captain or not, you're still an individual who's part of the team." He said he's lucky enough to see RCB's transition under former South Africa skipper.

"A lot of people see transitions happen when they are away from the system. I'm lucky enough to see it happen in front of my eyes, while I'm still part of the larger picture." The 33-year-old announced last year that he would play for RCB till the day he retires.

"You got to still look for ways to contribute to your environment, and I'm certainly in a space where I'm gonna help him with anything that I can," he said.

A chance to restructure and rethink about himself

Kohli also opened up about being unburdened from his captaincy responsibilities after almost a decade and said it's a chance for him to restructure, rethink himself.

"It's a wise thing for anyone to create some space for themselves, just take a deep breath and restructure things and say 'Hold on, I might not have looked at a lot of things that I need to work on, and here's a chance for me to restructure,