Former Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain Virat Kohli has shown ominous signs of bringing his old self back in the upcoming IPL 2023 as he said that he was back to playing the way he used to in previous years.
The record-holder for the most runs in a single IPL edition- 973 in IPL 2016, Virat Kohli endured a poor three-year run with the bat not only in international cricket but in IPL as well. This led to him stepping down as the RCB captain after IPL 2021.
However, after going without a century in any format for three years, Virat Kohli ended that drought with centuries in all three formats since last year and has added five tons to his already impressive resume.
Ahead of the start of IPL 2023, Kohli looks in brilliant touch but the former RCB captain has insisted that there's scope for improvement.
“It was just about rediscovering the love for the game. That could happen when I stepped away from what was happening on the field for so long. I was trying to find ways when I was exhausted. I needed to connect myself as a human first, not judge myself constantly or keep myself under the scrutiny all the time. Staying away from the game helped me. That helped me rediscover the excitement and love for the game. When I came back, everything was an opportunity, nothing was pressure,” Kohli told RCB during a chat.
“The results followed. I was able to play well in T20Is, ODIs, and recently in the Test series as well. I'm back to playing the way I do, there's still a lot of room to get to my best, which hopefully happens in the IPL if I get to the level I really want to play. That would help the team,” Kohli further said.
While the IPL 2023 begins from March 31 onwards, RCB will play their first game against Mumbai Indians on April 2.
