During a live conversation on Instagram with the former England star Kevin Pietersen, Virat Kohli opened up about various subjects, like the reasons behind Royal Challengers Bangalore‘s title drought, and how long he is aiming to continue at the top level.
The 31-year-old, who has captained RCB for six straight years in the Indian Premier League (IPL), said that RCB needs to “rediscover the joy of cricket” if they want to challenge for the title and win it.
Over the years, RCB performed better in the auction, signing big-name players, with Kohli being the epitome of outstanding talent. Players such as Kevin Pietersen, Chris Gayle, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, Jacques Kallis, Dale Steyn, and AB de Villiers have all donned RCB’s jersey.
Still, RCB remain one of only three existing teams in the IPL, with the other two being Kings XI Punjab and Delhi Capitals, not to have their hands on the title
RCB did reach the finals on three different occasions, back in 2009, 2011 and as recently as in 2016. But the last few seasons have been nothing short of a disaster for them, for they finished last in 2017 and 2019, and 6th in 2018.
“You go after something so badly, and it keeps running away from you. It has just that added pressure in recent years. We’ve just thought, ‘this is the season, this is the season’, and that’s blown us all over the place. I think we need to get that joy back,” Kohli said during live Instagram session with Kevin Pietersen.
When KP asked about his retirement plans, the current Indian team captain said that he is going to give his all until the next World Cup, which India is going to host from February 09.
I have set 2-3 years till next World Cup for myself, I am going to give it all. After that, I will figure out where I stand, which format, all those questions come later.”
RCB stocked their roster in the 2020 auction, signing players such as Australian limited over captain Aaron Finch, South African T20 specialist Chris Morris, as well as Joshua Philippe, Dale Steyn, and Kane Richardson.