IPL 2022: Manish Pandey to reportedly replace Virat Kohli as RCB skipper

Manish Pandey, one of the most promising batters in India, can be one of the top buys for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in IPL 2022 auction and is likely to replace Virat Kohli as skipper of the franchise, as per reports.

Notably, Manish Pandey was an integral part of RCB in 2009. The batter holds the prestigious record of scoring a maiden IPL century by an Indian. The knock was crucial in terms of taking the team to the finals in 2009. Since then, Pandey has played for several franchises like Kolkata Knight Riders, Pune Warriors India, and Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Pandey also has the experience of captaining the Karnataka team in domestic tournaments like the Ranji Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy and that makes him the frontrunner to lead RCB from IPL 2022 as Kohli decided to step down as the team's skipper after the conclusion of IPL 2021.

Also, with Kohli opening the batting for RCB, Pandey can very well fit the bill as a number three in the squad. While playing in domestic tournaments for Karnataka, the stylish batter usually bats at number three.

Moreover, Pandey is an experienced campaigner as he has so far played 154 IPL matches scoring 3560 runs at an average of 30.68.

Talking about the IPL 2022 retentions, Manish Pandey was released by SRH, while on the other hand, RCB decided to retain Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, and Mohammed Siraj.