RCB Bold diaries: King Kohli’s first words upon arrival for IPL 2022

There was plenty of chatter on Social media about when the King would arrive. And arrived he has. Walking into the RCB bio bubble in Mumbai late on Monday evening, Virat Kohli, free from the responsibilities as the captain, walked in as the calm amidst a setting that appeared as if a storm was approaching.

Asked if relinquishing captaincy duties has given him refreshed energy, Virat Kohli said, “(I have) renewed energy because I’m off a lot of responsibilities and duties. And life is in a very good place. We have a child now, we have a family. For me, it’s all about going on with life with a lot of joy and happiness and just watching our child grow and then just doing what I love, which is playing cricket. So, my focus is so clear now, it’s so precise what I want to do. I want to just have a lot of fun and enjoy myself on the field and give myself fully to this team, to this franchise like I have for so many years, without any load. So, I’m absolutely ready.”

What have been the first few conversations with RCB’s new captain Faf du Plessis been like? “I messaged him as soon as he was picked for RCB. Sounded him off a little bit about what’s to come. Obviously, it was official after, but I knew that getting Faf for us at the auction. I was very clear that we need a leader in the change room who commands a lot of respect; doesn’t demand it, he commands it because he’s been there, done that. He’s a Test captain, so that profile comes with a lot of accolades already. And we’re absolutely excited for him to lead RCB this year and I’m sure he’ll do a tremendous job. We get along really well - all of us with him, myself, Maxi, Harshal, Dino(Dinesh Karthik). have met him already and I think all the other guys will really enjoy this environment.”

Virat Kohli will now undergo a 3-day quarantine which he described would involve Netflix, books, and video calls, before getting out to kickstart his IPL 2022 campaign on the field with RCB.