Unfortunate that we had to end up here early: RCB captain Virat Kohli reacts to leaving England early

The fifth and final Test of the series was cancelled after the Indian contingent was hit with a COVID-19 and the Indian players refused to take to the field in Manchester.

Upon arriving in the UAE, Kohli – the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain – appeared on ‘RCB Bold Diaries’ series on RCB Digital Media Platforms. The India captain opened up about the entire development and said, “Unfortunate that we had to end up here early, but with COVID in place, things are very uncertain. Anything can happen at any time. Hopefully, we’re able to maintain a good, strong, and secure environment, and have a quality IPL. 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.”

Kohli and pacer Mohammed Siraj arrived in UAE on Sunday (September 12) after RCB arranged safe transit for the players from Manchester to Dubai via a chartered flight. They will be quarantining for 6 days before they join the team for training. Kohli and Siraj shared their thoughts on the second leg of the season while travelling to Dubai.

RCB captain also spoke about the new additions to the team and said, “I’ve been in touch with everyone. We’ve had discussions over the last month or so, a little longer than that with the replacements, who’s coming and who’s not. Eventually, we ended up replacing our key players with some top-quality cricketers. 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. So, I’m very excited to see them, with the whole group at practice and certainly very excited to resume a very good season that started last time around.”

Paceman Mohammed Siraj couldn’t contain his excitement while talking about the resumption of the IPL, “I am joining the RCB family after so many days, so I am very excited. We are in a good position on the points table, so it’s going to be fun. We have very good player replacements, so I’m looking forward to it.”

Siraj also spoke about the impact playing in the UAE has had on his career in the past. “To be honest, my career picked up from here, so I’m excited to be back. In the series against Australia, I was the leading wicket-taker, and I am ready to take on a similar responsibility.”