Royal Challengers Bengaluru‘s team director Mo Bobat confirmed on Friday in Bengaluru that Virat Kohli remains focused and competitive in IPL 2024 despite his recent retirement from Test cricket, where he amassed 9230 runs from 123 Tests with 30 centuries.Bobat addressed Kohli’s approach to the current IPL season during a pre-match press conference, emphasizing the player’s dedication to RCB’s success.“The first thing to say is Virat’s business as usual, as he always is. There’s enough of the public and the nation’s attention on him, and he doesn’t want any more of that. He’s ambitious about what we can achieve this year with RCB and that’s what he does,” Bobat said.The team director expressed admiration for Kohli’s Test career achievements and his impact on Indian cricket.“He should be incredibly proud of what he’s done as a Test player for India. RCB as a franchise, we are all incredibly proud of what every one of our players does for India, but in particular him. To play 120 plus Test matches and to score nearly 10,000 runs is no mean feat. Also as a captain, his record, 60 per cent win percentage or something like that as captain, again, no mean feat,” he stated.
Bobat shared his previous experience with Kohli from his time in the England coaching setup in 2018.“I can also talk from my previous role as an Englishman working in the English system. He was someone you never wanted to play against, he was always the batter you wanted to get out. You knew that if he was either in the pavilion to come or at the crease, you were in trouble,” he recalled.The team director highlighted Kohli’s memorable performance in the 2018 England series, where he scored 593 runs in five Tests at an average close to 60.Quiz: Who’s that IPL player?“Some of my most fondest memories watching Test cricket involve him. I’ll never forget the 2018 series in England, the Test at Edgbaston, watching Jimmy Anderson and him do battle like two gladiators. Jimmy must have bowled nine overs on the try. There were two of the best players in the world doing their things. That’s what he’s about, he’s about those special moments, those inspiring moments,” Bobat reminisced.He expressed confidence in the continued support from fans at Chinnaswamy stadium.
“I’m sure the fans will show him lots of love this week when they see him again. Just to go back to where I started, he’s business as usual, we all are. He’s spoken to a few of us about things in the last few weeks, but you know what he’s like, he’s pretty clear on what he wants to do,” he added.Regarding social media calls for fans to wear white jerseys in honor of Kohli’s Test career, Bobat maintained that such gestures would not significantly impact their game.“It’s not something we’ve thought about or talked about too much. I’ve certainly noticed that the fans have been talking about that a little bit, but I don’t think it’ll have much of an impact on our play,” he concluded.
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