Royal Challengers Bangalore had an underwhelming IPL 2019 campaign under Kohli's captaincy.
Virat Kohli's Royal Challengers Bangalore might have endured a poor IPL 2019 campaign but the Indian captain is unperturbed by it. Instead, he has learnt a lesson from the disappointing season and thus stressed on “the need to be in the present and win every moment” while playing high-octane tournaments like the World Cup.
With 8 defeats from 14 games, RCB finished the IPL 2019 season at the bottom of the points table. The string of losses made Kohli realise that some of the things are ‘not in one’s control’.
“After losing six games, it really came to a point where we told each other, this has not happened to anyone before. So I realised that after a certain stage, things are not in your control. You have to accept what it is and then work things accordingly. You have to be just present in the moment and try and win every moment if possible,” Kohli said at the World Cup pre-departure press conference in Mumbai on Tuesday.
RCB lost their first seven games in a row before making a late resurgence in the tournament. However, 5 wins from 14 games were not enough for the Bangalore-based franchise to make it to play-offs. This is the third year in a row now that RCB has failed to qualify for the play-offs round.
“The more you expect things to happen, the more frustrated you can get, so that is what I experienced in the first half. The second half was different. The players got together nicely, situation was different, backs against the wall, the most important thing I learned is even if you are in a situation where it is a must-win game, you can’t think in your room the day before. You just have to arrive on that day and try and do your skill to the best of your potential,” he added.
The Indian captain also said that it is important to acknowledge the superiority of opponents at times.
“There are 11 other players who are probably more passionate than you are on that given day, so you have to accept things the way they are and that is the biggest learning I took from this IPL…” he remarked.
(With inputs from Sportstar)