Virat Kohli is at pain that the COVID-19 virus had breached the Indian cricket team’s safety ring ahead of the fifth and final Test against England. The Team India skipper has reached Dubai from Manchester with the other Royal Challengers Bangalore team members. But the cancellation of the Old Trafford Test against England is still hurting him.
RCB captain Kohli has expressed the need to maintain a secure bio bubble environment. “Unfortunate that we had to end up here early, but with COVID in place, things are very uncertain. Anything can happen at any time. Hopefully, we’re able to maintain a good, strong, and secure environment, and have a quality IPL. It’s going to be an exciting phase and a very important one for us at RCB and then for the Indian team at the T20 World Cup,” said the Team India and RCB captain.
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Kohli also spoke about the new additions in the team. “I’ve been in touch with everyone. We’ve had discussions over the last month or so, a little longer than that with the replacements, who’s coming and who’s not. Eventually, we ended up replacing our key players with some top-quality cricketers,” he added. “Our key players will be missed, and they are a part of the family, but the people coming in as well have great skill sets, especially for these conditions. So, I’m very excited to see them, with the whole group at practice and certainly very excited to resume a very good season that started last time around.”
Paceman Mohammed Siraj couldn’t contain his excitement while talking about the resumption of the IPL, “I am joining the RCB family after so many days, so I am very excited. We are in a good position on the points table, so it’s going to be fun. We have very good player replacements, so I’m looking forward to it,” said Shiraj.
Siraj also spoke about the impact playing in the UAE has had on his career in the past. “To be honest, my career picked up from here, so I’m excited to be back. In the series against Australia, I was the leading wicket-taker, and I am ready to take on a similar responsibility,” he added.
Royal Challengers Bangalore will kick start their IPL 2021 resumption against the Kolkata Knight Riders on Monday, September 20, in Abu Dhabi.
Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli and bowler Mohammed Siraj arrived in UAE on Sunday. The team management had arranged safe transit for the players from Manchester to Dubai via a chartered flight. The payers will be quarantining for 6 days before they join the team for training.
As part of the ‘RCB Bold Diaries’ series on RCB Digital Media Platforms, Kohli and Siraj shared their thoughts on the second leg of the season while travelling to Dubai.
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