Virat Kohli will be stepping down from Royal Challengers Bangalore’s captaincy at the end of the current season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021. He made this announcement a day before his team resumed its UAE-leg of the cash-rich tournament. While Kohli, in his message, said that he still wants to be a part of the Bangalore-based franchise, the management will now have to look elsewhere for their new captain.

The two names that are being touted as the next RCB captain are veteran South African batsman AB de Villiers and explosive Australian batsman Glenn Maxwell. However, if it boils down to the two of them, De Villiers is expected to take over the captaincy as he has represented the Bangalore-based franchise for a decade and is a firm fan favourite.

As the discussion grows louder, former India Sanjay Manjrekar, citing age as a reason, is of the opinion that the South African may not be the correct choice

“How many years are you going to get out of AB (de Villiers) as captain and player? So I would like to have someone that has at least three years to offer,” Manjrekar told ESPNCricinfo in a video discussion.

However, he was quick to mention three other names that RCB could look at as their captain for the next year’s IPL. He feels that West Indies star Kieron Pollard might be the right person for the job.

“I know Pollard is no spring chicken but he is one guy that I feel has the leadership qualities. You should always spot a person from a team that has established leaders. So I pick Pollard as a contender,” said Manjrekar.

“Suryakumar Yadav could be one from the auction and David Warner is another guy,” he added of his remaining two choices for the role,” he added.