As Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) squad is training rigorously in the scorching heat of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), skipper Virat Kohli is delighted with the fitness and preparation of his teammates ahead of the IPL 2020.
The experienced campaigner maintained he was back to do basics as soon as he felt comfortable out in the middle.
Virat Kohli is happy with the preparations:
The players have been rusty before making a strong return to prove their credential despite no practice whatsoever before touching down in the UAE.
The fitness freak is delighted to gradually start training alongside his teammates following an extended break due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I am very happy with how the team is shaping up. From a fitness point of view, everyone is looking great, everyone is in good shape. It’s a matter of feeling good and I think I felt good from the first session onwards,” Kohli said in a video.
The other members of RCB had also been training hard to adjust according to the conditions. The star batsman Kohli himself maintained earlier it was not easy to take on the task, however, it was altogether a different experience to be back and play with the same frame of mind what players had five months before.
“First few days we are just getting our eye in, getting back in thick of things after 5 months, it’s a bit different, try and get into the frame of mind which you usually want to be,” Kohli maintained.
Kohli further maintained that it will some time to get used to it. They have been batting in the middle and work on what they have been doing before the pandemic-enforced lockdown. Moreover, Kohli explained that they are
“It takes a bit of time, in these sessions now we are mostly batting in the middle, trying to figure out hitting angles, understanding the pace of the wicket and all these,” said Kohli.
Virat Kohli on their approach to avoid any of the injuries:
On speaking about avoid injuries; Kohli asserted that they have maintained poise and don’t want to rush. However, they had been training in a phased manner – to make things easier by giving sufficient time to their players before returning to training sessions.
“We don’t want to push anyone into a niggle or an injury because we understand it’s been a while away from the game. So I think we moved ahead in a balanced manner.
“We don’t want to be a maniac like doing 6 sessions in six days. We gave ample off time to the boys which we will continue to do along the course of the these next few training sessions also,” Virat Kohli quipped.
Owing to the 14-day programme, Kohli is happy with the way things have panned out so far for the RCB. He further reiterated that they have been keen to put things on track to enter the competition a force to reckon with.
With RCB eyeing their first IPL title, they will keen to take on Sunrisers Hyderabad on September 21, in a bid to mark the beginning of their IPL campaign on a high note.
More intense, more hungry than ever before, and more balanced, Virat Kohli speaks about his progress after two weeks of practice in the UAE ahead of Dream 11 IPL 2020. pic.twitter.com/l2ovA1IgGf
— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) September 12, 2020