Virat Kohli is among those few players who have been serving only one franchise since the inception of Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2008. Kohli will be playing his sixteenth season for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the IPL 2023, which is set to start from March 31. Over the years, RCB's batting juggernaut has seen it all, but despite putting up sensational show with the bat and his captaincy, which he lost few years back, Kohli hasn't managed to lift a single IPL trophy as yet and his title drought still continues.
Meanwhile, former India batter and current cricket commentator Sanjay Manjrekar has made a big prediction on Kohli and RCB's chances of winning the IPL title. Manjrekar believes Kohli and RCB stand a good chance of tasting the IPL glory this time around. Manjrekar said that the Bangalore-based franchise posses a strong bowling attack in IPL 2023 and if captain Faf du Plessis fare well with the bat RCB can go on to clinch the title.
"Yes, I feel Virat Kohli's dream of winning the trophy will come true this time. They have a wonderful bowling attack. If Faf du Plessis scores runs, they will have a great chance," Sanjay Manjrekar said while speaking to ESPNcricinfo.
Kohli, who has finally found his mojo back in all formats after a long string of lean patch, will look to make the most of his robust show with the willow. However, Kohli didn't have a good season with the bat in IPL 2022 as he recorded three golden ducks in the previous season. Although he managed to bounce back and propel RCB to the play offs but Faf Du Plessis' side's campaign came to a closure yet again without clinching the title. RCB will look to end their long standing title drought in IPL 2023 and give their fans a perfect treat.
Meanwhile, Manjrekar also said that Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), Chennai Super Kings (CSK), and Rajasthan Royals (RR) are the top contenders to make their way to the IPL 2023 playoffs.
Earlier, Kohli while lauding the RCB fan base said there is a pure connection between fans and RCB players. He termed them the best fans in the world.
"It is phenomenal what this franchise and this fan base has done over the years because these two guys are from different countries and look at what amount of love they've received and accepted them as their own. This is beyond the game, this is beyond what we do on the field. This is pure connect that's why we mean it when we say that we have the best fans in the world. This is what they do to the players," Kohli had said in the RCB podcast.
RCB full squad for IPL 2023: Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Mohammad Siraj, Faf Du Plessis, Harshal Patel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dinesh Karthik, Shahbaz Ahmed, Rajat Patidar, Anuj Rawat, Akash Deep, Josh Hazlewood, Mahipal Lomror, Finn Allen, Suyash Prabhudessai, Karn Sharma, Siddharth Kaul, David Willey, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma, Manoj Bhandage, Rajan Kumar, Avinash Singh, Sonu Yadav, Micheal Bracewell.
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