'They all have great skillsets, excited to see them'- Virat Kohli on RCB's new signings

India and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Virat Kohli arrived in Dubai on Sunday (12 September) for the second half of the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) set to begin September 19. After the six days mandatory quarantine period, Kohli led-RCB will kick off their second leg of the season against Kolkata Knight Riders on September 20.

Kohli and the other IPL-bound players were supposed to reach the UAE on September 15 or 16 after the completion of the fifth Test versus England. But due to the COVID-19 threat, the Test got cancelled. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) officials bubble-to-bubble transfer from England to UAE too was dented. And hence it has resorted to six days quarantine period for players returning from the United Kingdom.

“Unfortunate how we ended up being here early but, with COVID in place, things are very uncertain, so anything can happen at any time,” said Kohli in a video posted on RCB Twitter.

Kohli further opined on how the IPL is important heading into the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup. “Hopefully, we are able to maintain a good strong, secure environment here and have a quality IPL and onto the World Cup. So now, heading into the T20 phase, I think it is going to be an exciting phase and a very important one for us at RCB and for the Indian team at the World Cup as well,” he added.

Virat Kohli happy with the newcomers in the RCB squad

Adam Zampa and Kane Richardson, Daniel Sams, and Finn Allen won’t take part in the UAE leg of IPL for RCB. Subsequently, the management announced Sri Lankan leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga as a replacement player for Zampa. They also added Dushmantha Chameera, George Garton, and Tim David to their team as replacement players for Sams, Richardson, and Allen respectively. Kohli welcomed the news players and felt they have great skill sets, especially in the UAE conditions.

“The replacement players have great skillsets, especially in these conditions. Excited to see them with the whole group and to resume a very good season that we started last time around.”

Meanwhile, RCB’s lead pacer Mohammed Siraj is looking forward to the UAE leg of IPL and feels it will be a great few weeks. “I am joining RCB family after so many days, really excited for the IPL. We are in a good position on the points table so, it will be a lot of fun.”