Daniel Vettori will lead Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League (IPL) commencing on April 8. The New Zealand skipper, who led his team adroitly to the semifinal of the World Cup, was the front-runner for RCB's top job though there was speculation that Virat Kohli, the lone player to be retained by the franchise ahead of the player auction here in January, was also in the reckoning for the key post.
Vettori will now step into the enviable shoes of Anil Kumble, who led the team to the IPL final and semifinal in 2009 and 2010 respectively.
Kumble, who has now donned the chief mentor's role, welcomed Vettori's appointment. “Vettori has the unique ability to get players to perform as a unit and deliver more than just the sum of the parts. He has done this time and again with New Zealand and he will be a big asset to any team,” Kumble said.
Coach Ray Jennings said that Vettori's core skill of being a left-arm spinner will also come in handy for RCB. “Vettori is probably the best spinner in the world and that will be extremely useful on Indian pitches. We hope that he will inspire the young Royal Challengers in the upcoming season.”
Team owners — chairman Vijay Mallya and director Sidhartha Mallya — welcomed Vettori's appointment and hoped for a “successful season.”
RCB will open its IPL campaign with the match against Kochi Tuskers Kerala at Kochi on April 9.
