Kohli: Kirsten to have a huge impact for RCB

Cape Town - Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli has backed assistant coach Gary Kirsten to have a big impact on the batting for his franchise.

Bangalore lost in the IPL final to Sunrisers Hyderabad by eight runs last season.

Proteas batsman AB de Villiers will once again team up with Kohli.

Kirsten, who played 101 Tests for the Proteas, is highly regarded in India, having coached the subcontinent side to the Cricket World Cup title on home soil in 2011.

Kohli stated that he has benefited from Kirsten's extensive knowledge - when the two worked together when Kirsten was Indian coach.

"This discussion came up sometime before the auction happened," he said.

"I thought it’s a great opportunity for the younger guys to spend time with Gary because I benefitted massively from his inputs in the early stages of my career and that certainly made me a better cricketer in those tough times.

"I had a great working relationship with Gary. In terms of the batting group operating, I think he's the ideal man to supervise things. He can keep the batting group together, which I saw him do at the international level with the Indian cricket team," said Kohli.

"Having so many big names in the team and how he got everyone together and the team spirit going, I think that was an outstanding factor as far as I saw it."

The Royal Challengers Bangalore kick-off their IPL campaign when they travel to Kolkata to take on the Knight Riders on Sunday (16:30 SA time).