IPL 2020: Virat Kohli gets going as RCB step out to train, Skipper says 'was very scared'

As Virat Kohli padded up for the first time after the COVID forced break on Saturday, the Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper feels that he has got his timing just right ahead of the upcoming IPL 2020. Kohli expressed that he was 'pretty scared' as he had not even picked the bat for five months. However, he added that he had trained a bit during the lockdown which has helped him. 

“[It went] much better than expected, to be honest. I was pretty scared. I hadn’t picked up a bat for five months, but yeah it came out better than I thought, to be honest. I’ve trained quite a bit during lockdown, so I’m feeling quite fit and that helps,” Kohli told the franchise website.

“Because the body is light and you react better, I feel like I have more time on the ball. That’s a big plus. Otherwise you come heavier into the season, the body isn’t moving as much, and it starts playing on mind, but yeah, as I said it went much better than I expected,” he added. 

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The RCB skipper also oversaw his bowling department training for the first time post the mandatory lockdown. Kohli highlighted that spinners looked 'pretty good' for day one. The franchise's spin department includes of Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal and Shahbaz Nadeem. Spinners are expected to be instrumental for every side as the pitches in the Middle East are spin-friendly.

“The spinners looked pretty good for day one, they pitched the ball in consistent areas for long enough. Shahbaz was good, Washy was very good, I saw Chahal bowl well too. The seamers went through their motions a little bit. All in all, a decent start to our camp,” Kohli remarked. 

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COVID hits IPL 2020

With just three weeks remaining for the IPL 2020 to begin and the Coronavirus has already jolted a big blow to the T20 tournament which had to be moved to the UAE due to the pandemice. The BCCI on Saturday, confirmed that 13 personnel have been infected with the virus including two players. The BCCI has also informed that a total of 1988 RT-PCR Tests have been conducted between August 20-28 and that all affected personnel and their close contacts are 'asymptomatic' and have been isolated. 

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IPL 2020 in UAE

The cash-rich tournament, which was earlier postponed, has been moved to the UAE due to the prevailing COVID-19 situation in India. The tournament is all set to start on September 19 while the final will be played on November 10. The BCCI has already issued an SOP for the tournament and has also allowed COVID-19 replacement during the tournament. Recently, Dream11 acquired the title sponsorship rights for IPL 2020 for a whopping amount of Rs 220 crore after Vivo's exit. This year's edition will also feature COVID replacements that have been allowed by the governing body in view of the pandemic. 

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RCB Full Squad

Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Gurkeerat Mann, Devdutt Padikkal, Aaron Finch, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Kane Richardson, Dale Steyn, Isuru Udana, Moeen Ali, Pawan Negi, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Chris Morris, Pavan Deshpande Parthiv Patel, Joshua Philippe, Shahbaz Ahamad