Likely I will sit out some games: Kohli
In the past, the focus was on getting strong overseas players. This time, (domestic) guys have been given confidence to try and out bat ABD or me. VIRAT KOHLI, RCB skipper
CHENNAI : Virat Kohli has a lot on his plate. For the next two months, he will chase a maiden IPL with RCB but as the national team captain will keep an eye on how the World Cup hopefuls are shaping up.
Ahead of IPL’S opening match here, Kohli told a pre-match media conference that he might miss a few games to manage his workload ahead of the World Cup.
“That’s a big possibility (sitting out a few games). Why not? Again, it’s a very personal sort of responsibility. We’ve told players to be particular about reporting to the (IPL team) physio, then to the national physio,” he said.
Kohli said the workload management ahead of the World Cup cannot be an excuse to not be fully committed in the IPL.
“I think it will boil down to giving information as soon as possible to the people concerned and then figure out a plan. If he is told not to play, he has to respect that compared to ‘I have a niggle, I ignore it and not tell anyone’. In the game anything can happen. As soon as you feel something, the information has to be given.
“I am very motivated to start (against CSK). A franchise has trusted you to do the job for them and till the time you play, you have to give 120 per cent. I don’t believe in giving 75-80 per cent, and play for the sake of it. When you don’t play, you just don’t play.”
Entering the 12th edition of IPL, Kohli is yet to get the champions’ tag. He dismissed queries on whether it was a blemish in his career. “You want to win when you play, and I am doing that. I am not going to think whether I am going to be judged or not if I don’t win the IPL… We’ve to be practical why we haven’t won, and that is because we took bad decisions in pressure situations.
“In the past the focus was always on getting strong overseas players. This time around the (domestic) guys have been given the confidence to try and out bat ABD or me. This year is not about the big names.”