IPL 2022: AB de Villiers expects Virat Kohli to score over 600 runs this season

Former Royal Challengers Bangalore star AB de Villiers has backed Virat Kohli and has predicted that his former teammate will score more than 600 runs in the Indian Premier League (IPL) this season. On his YouTube channel VUSport Streaming, he said that he is confident Kohli will look amazing and can play optimally for RCB this season.

“Everyone knows about Faf du Plessis as captain. I think the most interesting thing for me is that Virat is not the captain and can release a little bit of pressure. I expect a very big season from Virat. I'm thinking 600+ runs from him this year and hope he brings out his best hitting potential in the tournament," said AB de Villiers.

AB de Villiers was one of the star players of RCB whom Kohli led. The friendship between de Villiers and Kohli is quite close and the two share mutual respect as they also admire each other. RCB played without De Villiers this season after he announced his retirement from cricket.

The former RCB hitter also spoke about his compatriot, Faf du Plessis who was appointed the new Bangalore skipper after Kohli announced his resignation from captaincy.

"Faf is also very experienced. He has had good cricket training for him and he will allow Virat and some of the younger players to go and break free, and just enjoy the IPL. I don't know what to expect (from RCB) but I anticipate some people to actually go up in this IPL from the RCB setup," added de Villiers.

Most explosive hitter

Virat Kohli has been known as one of the most explosive hitters in the country. With his reputation as the star of Royal Challengers Bangalore, his presence is very important to the core team. In RCB's first match in IPL 2022 against the Punjab Kings, this charismatic hitter played a crucial hit and showed positive signs from the start of the tournament.

With Kohli's playing pattern, many cricket experts predict that Kohli will be a force to be reckoned with this season. Previously, Kohli's track record can be seen in the IPL 2016, where the former RCB captain put out the best performance by collecting 973 runs in 16 innings. On top of that, his attack rate was also impressively above 152.

By leading from the front, Kohli managed to bring his team to the final round. However, at that time RCB lost against the Sunrisers Hyderabad by 8 rounds in the final match. Even so, Virat Kohli still deserves the Orange Cap for being the highest run-getter in the tournament.

High expectation

In line with de Villiers, former cricketer Nikhil Chopra agrees with the former RCB player's statement. While speaking on Sky247.net, 'Not Just Cricket Show' on CricTracker, Chopra is also confident that Kohli will rack up over 600 rounds this season.

“If Kohli scores over 600 plus, RCB will be among the top three teams. He's in great shape and should turn it into a run and a win for RCB. Kohli is a vital mover in the squad and has set the benchmark for others that everyone admires. After the first game, he should have a lot of confidence, and we can expect a strong performance from him," said Chopra.

Next, RCB will face the Kolkata Knight Riders, who won their IPL 2022 opener, at DY Patil Stadium Wednesday. This time Bangalore will be looking for their first win as previously they lost against the Punjab Kings in the opening game.

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