"I was probably the first guy to message him" - Virat Kohli on Faf du Plessis replacing him as RCB captain

Virat Kohli opened up on South African batter Faf du Plessis taking over the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captaincy from him ahead of last season's Indian Premier League (IPL).

Speaking on the "RCB Podcast Season 2", Kohli revealed that he had texted Du Plessis after learning that the Bangalore-based franchise had decided to appoint him as the skipper. The Indian batter also mentioned that he had made it clear that he was completely prepared to play under the new captain.

Kohli said:

"As soon as I understood that this was RCB's plan, I messaged him. I was probably the first guy to message him and let him know that this is going to happen. He was very excited about it and immediately understood that I was on board here to play under him."

The 34-year-old added that he had absolutely no issues playing under Du Plessis. He opined that if someone steps down from the captaincy, he should not have a problem if the new skipper doesn't want to take their suggestions and instead wants to back his own plan.

He added:

"I find it very amusing and surprising that these things are looked at as something tremendously great. It is the basic requirement of any team sport. No one is bigger than the game. So once you have stepped down from a responsibility, why should you feel bad about the guy who's in charge telling you he doesn't want to follow what you are telling him? No one should feel bad about it."

Notably, Faf du Plessis enjoyed decent success during his first season as the RCB captain. The side made it to the playoffs but failed to secure a place in the final, suffering a heartbreaking seven-wicket loss to the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Qualifier 2.

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"It takes a bit of time to process" - Virat Kohli on stepping down as captain

Virat Kohli further stated that it took him some time to get used to playing under a new captain in the IPL. He pointed out that it took a while for him to realize the he was no longer responsible for everything that happened with the team.

He highlighted that during crunch situations, he would have the urge to give suggestions to the skipper. Kohli, however, hinted that he would refrain from doing so as the new leader had his own plans.

Elaborating more on the transition, he added:

"You go into a position of being responsible for everything that's going on around you, and to not be in that position, it takes a bit of time to process it and understand it and let that become normal. It's the moments where the game is in the balance, that's when you feel like maybe I should not give my advice right now because the plan seems to have already been made."

RCB are set to open their IPL 2023 campaign with their match against Mumbai Indians (MI) at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on April 2.