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Virat Kohli threw his weight behind Royal Challengers Bangalore's new captain Faf du Plessis, saying he is a leader 'who commands a lot of respect'.
Kohli stepped down as RCB captain after IPL 2021 ending a nine-year reign. RCB announced South Africa veteran batter du Plessis as the captain for IPL 2022, after buying him for Rs 7 crore (Rs 70 million) at the players' auction last month.
'I messaged him as soon as he was picked for RCB, sounded him a little bit about what's to come, obviously it was official after. But I knew obviously that getting Faf at the auction, for us the plan was very clear that we need a leader in the change room who commands a lot of respect. He commands it not demands it, because he has been there, done that,' Kohli said in the video posted by RCB on Instagram.
'He is a Test captain, so that profile comes with a lot of accolades already and we are excited for him to lead RCB this year. He will do a tremendous job. We get along really well with him, all of us myself, Maxi (Glenn Maxwell) Dinesh Karthik, Harshal (Patel) and I think all the guys will enjoy this tournament,' he added.
Kohli, who joined the RCB bio bubble on Monday, also explained why he decided to quit as RCB captain.
'(I am here with) renewed energy because I am off a lot of responsibilities and duties and life is in a very good place, we have a child now, we have a family. For me, it's all about going about life with a lot of joy and happiness and just watching our child grow and love what I do which is playing cricket,'' he said.
'My focus is so clear. It's so precise what I want to do, I just want to have a lot of fun and just enjoy myself on the field and give myself fully to this team, like I have for so many years, without any load, so I am absolutely ready,' he said.
Kohli will undergo a three-day quarantine before he joins his team mates for practice in Mumbai.
'I would have preferred it (quarantine) not to be here because I am in Mumbai, my home is literally 20 minutes from here, but I can't go home.'
On how he plans to pass time in quarantine, Kohli said: 'You just gotta catch up on a couple of shows, read a book which you are still going on with, and a lot of video calls home.'