The two-month break will keep Virat Kohli in good stead as Royal Challengers Bangalore seek maiden IPL title in 17th season.
Bengaluru: Virat Kohli looked ‘happy and excited’ to return to cricket after a two-month break as the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) star joined the training on Monday ahead of their IPL 2024 opener against Chennai Super Kings. Kohli, who last played for India in January against Afghanistan in a T20I, withdrew from the first two Test matches initially against England. However, he opted out for the remainder of the series due to the birth of his second child, Akaay.
Akaay was born in the United Kingdom as per several reports and Kohli stayed by his family. He returned to India on Sunday before linking up with his teammates in Bengaluru the same day. RCB play their opener in Chennai and the team is expected to depart for the opening game on Wednesday.
“It’s really good to be back, firstly playing cricket and just starting off the IPL,” Kohli told RCB TV. “It’s always exciting to come back to Bangalore for the start of the IPL season. So, similar emotions, similar feelings and I haven’t been off the media radar.
“I have been into the normalcy, you can say, for two months. So, yeah, I am pretty happy and excited to be back and I hope all the fans are excited and happy as well,” he added. Earlier on the day, Kohli joined the RCB training. He was caught playing football and got involved in some intense fielding and catching drills, the videos of which went viral on social media.
IPL 2024 will be very crucial for Kohli. The former India captain has played just two T20Is since 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia. With the T20 World Cup selection at stake, Kohli would like to continue his run-scoring form that he displayed during the ODI World Cup 2023. For the unknown, Kohli is the highest run-getter in IPL with 7263 runs in 237 matches.
He averages an impressive 37.24 with a strike rate of 130.02. The stylish right-hander has 50 fifties to his name and seven hundreds – most tons by any player in the history of IPL. Meanwhile on Sunday, Kohli was seen on a video call with the RCB women’s team after Smriti Mandhana’s side lifted their maiden Women’s Premier League title, beating Delhi Capitals in the final.
Although none of them could hear each other’s voices due to loud music being played as a part of post-match celebrations, but Kohli’s gesture once again showed why he is a true RCBian. He will be present at the RCB Unbox event on Tuesday, where the jersey for IPL 2024 will be revealed.