IPL 2019: Realistic Virat Kohli doesn’t believe in ‘ee sala cup namde’

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have boasted of some of the biggest names in the cricketing world, including the likes of Indian skipper Virat Kohli and former South African cricketer AB de Villiers. However, the Red Army is yet to win the Indian Premier League (IPL). In 2009, 2011 and 2016, RCB qualified for the finals only to stumble in the crunch encounter.

Last year, the team languished at the bottom half of the points table for a substantial part of the round-robin stage and was subsequently eliminated before the playoffs. Prior to the erstwhile season, there was a marketing campaign built around a Kannada chant that went as “ee sala cup namde” (The cup is ours this year). Meanwhile, Kohli has a pretty different opinion on this.

He respects the fact that there are other teams as well, who are fighting to win the coveted trophy. The 30-year-old reckons that such advertisements don’t create the right atmosphere in the team.

No one wants to win more badly than the players

“We realised this last year. You shouldn’t create an atmosphere even before the tournament has started, that ‘We are going to win this year’, because there are seven other teams too. You have to be realistic. It’s not a one-team dominated tournament.

From my point of view, I can ignore it. But if you can’t take a guarantee that everyone else is going to ignore it, then it can stay in your mind,” Kohli was quoted as saying in ESPNcricinfo.

“That’s why I said it’s very important to be aligned with the team’s culture and vision, and be a part of the team and not put expectations that are far away. No one wants to win more badly than the players, that anyone will guarantee you,” he added.

RCB are scheduled to play the tournament opener on Saturday, March 23 against Chennai Super Kings (CSK), captained by MS Dhoni, at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

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