"Ray Jennings told Virat Kohli in 2009 he will be next Indian captain"- Former RCB player Dillon du Preez

Former Royal Challengers Bangalore pacer Dillon du Preez recalled how the team's former coach Ray Jennings made a bold prediction about Virat Kohli back in 2009. Kohli joined RCB as part of the U-19 draft picks in 2008 and was retained by the franchise for the second season.

While Kohli had not cemented his place in the Indian team at the time, Jennings predicted the talented batter would become the next captain of the national side. The prediction proved accurate as Kohli took over the reins of the team from MS Dhoni in all three formats of cricket.

In an interview with Swagcricket.com, Dillon du Preez recalled the 2009 season and said:

"Virat was still a youngster in 2009, didn’t really know him that well, but from Day 1 you could see this guy could play. I remember Ray Jennings tell Virat he will be the next Indian captain, What a vision! Till today he is one of my favourites to watch."

Being in the RCB dressing room changed my life: Dillon du Preez

Dillon du Preez currently works as the assistant coach of the South African women's cricket team. Although the fast bowler never played international cricket for South Africa, he did turn out in a couple of matches for Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2009.

When asked about his experience of sharing the dressing room with the likes of Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, Kevin Pietersen and other star players, du Preez replied:

"Being in the change room of RCB definitely changed my life. I remember sitting there in the corner to my right I had Dravid and to my left Kumble was sitting."

"When I looked in front of me I saw Pietersen, Kallis, Boucher, Taylor, Virat and the 2 Kumar’s (Praveen and Bhuvneshwar). I remember thinking…. What the hell am I doing here. You can’t buy the experience in that change room," he added.

Dillon played his last IPL match in 2009, while his last appearance for RCB came in the 2010 Champions League T20. The fast bowler dismissed the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni and Ajinkya Rahane during his brief IPL stint.