Virat Kohli is back to near “peak condition” and ready to lead Royal Challengers Bangalore’s campaign in the 2018 Indian Premier League (IPL) after taking some time off from the game.
“Three weeks without even looking at my kit bag or bats was a weird feeling,” he joked on Wednesday, but admitted that it was a break that he desperately needed to recover from a few small injuries.
Kohli hasn’t been involved in any action since the second Twenty20 International of India’s tour of South Africa on 21 March. He sat out of the third and final T20I because of a stiff back and skipped the T20I Nidahas Trophy tri-series in Sri Lanka, which India won under Rohit Sharma’s leadership.
In trying to get the job done, Kohli has roped in Gary Kirsten to support Daniel Vettori, Ashish Nehra and others.
“I thought it’s a great opportunity for the younger guys to spend time with Gary because I benefited massively from his input in the early stages of my career and that certainly made me a better cricketer in those tough times,” said Kohli, who started out in international cricket when Kirsten was the India coach.
“In terms of the batting group operating, I think he’s the ideal man to supervise things. He can keep the batting group together which I saw him do at the international level with the Indian cricket team. Having so many big names in the team and how he got everyone together and the team spirit going, I think that was an outstanding factor.”
