Dubai: Virat Kohli, the Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper, sounded another note of caution for the teams to not show any leniency regarding leading life in the bio bubble for a smooth conduct of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The IPL 2020 will be played from September 19-November 10 in the UAE across three venues:Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah.
“Whatever I said on the Zoom call should not be a matter of pressure for anyone because of the magnitude of the COVID situation. We are all here to eventually play cricket and take care of this tournament and surroundings. The bio-bubble needs to be respected in order for the tournament to happen,” Kohli said in a video posted on the official YouTube channel of RCB.
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“We are here because we have the opportunity to play. We are not here to roam around and have fun. We are not living in such a time where we can hang around Dubai, we have to understand the privilege we have in front of us, everyone should accept it and they should not have unrealistic desires,” he added.
Soon after his arrival last week, Kohli had said in z soom call as to how no player can afford to breach the bio-bubble of the franchise. “If someone was to end up in such a situation or position, for me that’s letting the whole team down. Because it might happen at a stage of a tournament where we can’t afford to lose that player. If he does so, and we get harmed by it, then the whole team, the whole system, and culture loses. I just wanted to talk about this so that everyone understands the repercussions that may take place if someone violates the rules,” Kohli had said in the team meeting.
When asked as to whether such a warning will create pressure on the youngsters within the team, Kohli said: “Look, I understand that you might not have had the balanced understanding of things, initially you might not have had clarity about so many things, even I did not have clarity initially.”
“It should not be a thing of pressure, if someone guided me as to what is the right thing to do when I was new to the team, I would have loved it. I would have had a clear vision in front of me,” he added.
Raina’s second statement assumes additional importance after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirming that 13 personnel, including two players, tested positive for COVID-19 last week. It is learnt all the instances happened at the Chennai Super Kings camp, whose quarantine period in the UAE has been extended.
