‘Didn’t miss the game as much I thought I might’: Virat Kohli

Indian skipper Virat Kohli has admitted that an indefinite break from the field didn’t bother him as much as he had thought it would.

Cricket and most sporting activities around the world had taken a long hiatus owing to the coronavirus pandemic. While the world is still fighting off the viral infection, cricket is slowly returning back. Kohli is all set to star in the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) which will get going from 19th September in UAE this time.

“Things were okay. I didn’t miss the game as much as I thought I might,” Kohli said on an interview with The Bold Diaries on the RCB channel.

Kohli hasn’t played since the Christchurch Test against New Zealand. But after a lot of delays and postponement, the Board of Control for Cricket (BCCI) and the IPL governing body decided to hold the cash-rich tournament in UAE and the skipper is geared up to play for his team, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).

“Couple of months [ago] you couldn’t imagine you’d have IPL firstly. Then things started opening up and things started getting together and then we saw other tournaments taking place. So got a bit of confidence from that. Now when we had our practice session yesterday is the time I realised how long it has been. When I was heading to the practice session, I felt nervous, I felt a bit jittery but things were ok,” the skipper said.

Virat emphasized upon the precautions they need to take and pointed out that it the responsibility of every player to follow the protocols.

“We are all here to eventually play cricket, take care of this tournament, take care of our surroundings that we are in. The bio-bubble needs to be respected all-time for the tournament to happen. Eventually, we are here because we have the opportunity to play. We are not here to have fun, roam around and say ‘Oh I want to hang around in Dubai’ and all that. That’s not the time we’re living in.”

“We have to accept the phase that we’re going through and understand the privilege we have in front of us … just to be a part of the IPL. Everyone should accept that and not have desires that make them behave in a manner the situation doesn’t require them to,” he concluded.