RCB skipper Virat Kohli says he wants to silence critics by winning maiden IPL title as they take on defending champions Chennai Super Kings in the opening encounter today
Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli during a practice session at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai yesterday. Pic/PTI
Royal Challengers Bangalore have always been a hub of power players who give you a shot of adrenaline. But an IPL title remains elusive for them in the last 11 editions and it was quite natural that RCB captain Virat Kohli got asked about the anomaly in their record. Has the frustration set in his mind after being part of the RCB for 12 summers?
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And those years also saw him graduating from one among the players to the captain and the gnawing feeling could be even deeper. But Kohli does not think in the mundane ways. He says with nonchalance that winning or not winning an IPL title will not shape his legacy. I try to win all the time: Kohli "Obviously, I want to play and win the IPL.
But I don't really care whether I am judged on this or not. There is no real parameter on which you have to tick all the boxes. "I try to win all the time, win all the possible titles, sometimes it just does not happen. We have to be practical on why we have not won, basically it boiled down to bad decision-making in pressure situations.
"I know people outside talk a lot about this and I have given a responsibility here and given a chance I would like to win the IPL like any other captain for my team. But no excuses for not winning the IPL, only acceptance of the fact that we have not won. The fact that we have played six semi-finals and ahead is a testimony to the fact that we are a team always in contention. We need better decision-making," said Kohli.
'Virat can meet any challenge' Chennai Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming said winning the IPL title has much more to it than putting together an explosive team or having in the team's roster the world's best batsman, Kohli in this instance. "One man doesn't win the IPL. It's a tough competition to win and it's getting tougher as teams are getting smarter. Players are more conditioned to the demands of the IPL.
Coaches and management have become shrewd in picking players. Just because you are one of the best batters in the world, that doesn't mean you are going to have success with the IPL. There are number of things that go towards it. One thing I know about Virat is that if there is a challenge in front of him, he meets it most time which every franchise is wary of," said Fleming. Kohli himself will be eager to tame that challenge.
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