Dubai: India and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain Virat Kohli understands ‘the privilege’ of being able to play cricket in the middle of a raging pandemic. So Virat Kohli wants all IPL participants to respect the tournament’s bio-secure bubble. In fact during RCB’s first virtual team meeting Kohli made it clear that he won’t tolerate if any member of his team breaks the ‘bio bubble’.
Kohli was speaking on RCB’s Youtube show ‘Bold Diaries’. The 31-year-old swashbuckler said he didn’t exactly miss the game during the COVID-forced lockdown.
“Maybe because I was going on day and night for the last 10 years…It was a revelation for me in the sense that my focus was not solely on missing the game all the time,” Kohli said.
Non-negotiable restrictions
Kohli is now gearing up to be back in action with the IPL, starting September 19 in the UAE. He said the BCCI’s SIP and the bio bubble restrictions should be non-negotiable for all participants.
“We are all here to play cricket. The bio bubble needs to be respected at all times for the tournament to happen eventually. We are not here to have fun and roam around. You can’t say that ‘I want to hang out in Dubai’,” Kohli asserted.
“That is not the time we are living in. Accept the phase that we are going through. Understand the privilege that we have, just to be a part of the IPL. Everyone should accept that and not behave in a manner which situation doesn’t require them to,” the RCB skipper said.
First training session
Kohli also spoke about coming back to the game after five months. He said it didn’t take much time for him to find his groove.
Also read: No time ‘off’ for RCB skipper Virat Kohli
“First, a couple of months back you couldn’t imagine that you will have IPL. When we had our practice session yesterday, I realised how long it has been. When I was heading to the practice session, I felt nervous,” Kohli conceded.
“I felt a bit jittery but things were okay. I didn’t miss the game as much as I thought I might. Just carrying on with life was also important,” he added.
Praising support staff
Kohli credited the side’s support staff, led by team director Mike Hesson, for making everyone understand what’s at stake. At the same time, the players have not been put under pressure. “Culture will not change for any individual preferences,” he asserted.
The instinctive celebrations on the field will also be restricted due to health-safety protocols. Kohli reiterated that everyone has no choice but to adapt. “It has to be a balance. You cannot go berserk. We can’t be like kids being sent to a park,” he quipped.
On fatherhood
The star cricketer will welcome his first child in January with actor wife Anushka Sharma. Kohli said he has been over the moon ever since he got to know about it. “It is an incredible feeling. All things now are put in different perspectives for you. It is difficult to describe how you feel,” he stated.