Bangalore: Royal Challengers Bangalore decided, on Thursday, to retain India’s batting sensation Virat Kohli, West Indies’ Chris Gayle and South Africa’s AB de Villiers for the upcoming IPL season, besides announcing the appointment of former New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori as their head coach.
Bangalore, expectedly, have retained their batting nucleus in the form of Gayle, Kohli and de Villiers for the seventh edition of the cash-rich league.
While Kohli has been representing the Bangalore-based side since the inaugural edition, Gayle and de Villiers joined the Vijay Mallya owned team in 2011 from Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Daredevils, respectively.
Besides appointing former Kiwi and ex-RCB captain Vettori as the chief coach, former South African pacer Allan Donald was also roped in as the bowling mentor of the side while Australia’s Trent Woodhill would take care of batting and fielding departments.
“Having been closely associated with RCB for the last three years, I’m very excited by the opportunity to work with this exceptional brand and Virat in delivering on RCB’s true potential. My first area of focus will be to work closely with management in developing team composition strategy for the IPL auction,” Vettori said in a RCB release.
Donald, who coached Pune Warriors last season, said RCB have the capability to bag their maiden title.
“I have followed RCB very closely in previous editions of the IPL and believe they have the potential to go all the way. I hope my experience will guide them in getting there,” Donald, the current South African coach, said.
Commenting on the development, Mallya said, “This formidable trio have contributed significantly to RCB’s past performance and are match-winners in their own right. Their retention means that we have a strong platform to build an exceptional team.” (PTI)