'Unfortunate that we had to end up in UAE early' - Virat Kohli breaks silence on Manchester Test cancellation

A lot of Indian fans would have loved to witness a century by captain Virat Kohli in the fifth and the final Test in Manchester. However, the cancellation of the Test meant the fans would have to wait for a while longer to witness a century in Test cricket for Kohli. The Indian skipper who has now joined his Indian Premier League franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore, and called the events in Manchester ‘unfortunate’.

Kohli, along with Mohammed Siraj, arrived in the United Arab Emirates just a day after the Test match was cancelled. Their arrival was much before the expected date, however, it just happened to provide them with enough time to quarantine for six days before the tournament started. Kohli admitted the ongoing pandemic made things quite uncertain. 

“Unfortunate that we had to end up here early, but with COVID in place, things are very uncertain,” Kohli told RCB’s digital media platforms. “Anything can happen at any time. Hopefully, we’re able to maintain a good, strong and secure environment, and have a quality IPL,” the RCB skipper added. 

Bold Diaries: Virat Kohli & Mohammed Siraj join RCB

“The replacement players have great skillsets, especially in these conditions. Excited to see them with the whole group & to resume a very good season that we started last time around,” says captain Kohli.#PlayBold #IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/VvqKN3qhLo

— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) September 13, 2021

Going to be an exciting phase, a very important one for us at RCB: Virat Kohli

RCB during the first phase were in some good form. They won five out of their seven matches and were looking set for a place in the playoffs this time around as well. Kohli remarked the second phase in the UAE will be important for them. He also talked about the fact that once the IPL is over, the T20 World Cup would be an exciting prospect to look forward to.

“It’s going to be an exciting phase and a very important one for us at RCB and then for the Indian team at the T20 World Cup,” the Indian captain said. Kohli further said that he has been in touch with members of this franchise over the past month. He noted that despite missing some key players in the UAE leg, RCB has found good replacements. 

It is worth noting that RCB had to replace Daniel Sams, Adam Zampa, Kane Richardson, and Finn Allen with Dushmantha Chameera, Wanindu Hasaranga, George Garton, and Tim David. Kohli said, “Our key players will be missed, and they are a part of the family, but the people coming in as well have great skill sets, especially for these conditions.”