IPL 2018: Deeply sorry for RCB's failures: Virat Kohli

New Delhi, May 24: India and Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli on Thursday (May 24) said he was "deeply sorry" for RCB's failure to make the ongoing Indian Premier League's knockout stage and vowed to turn things around next season.

RCB finished third from bottom after losing eight of their 14 matches, let down by a weak bowling attack and inconsistent batting, which was heavily reliant on Kohli and South African AB de Villiers.

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I really believe in the concept of, "you either win or you learn". We fought hard and gave it our all but one thing is for sure, next season we definitely will bounce back stronger than ever with our learnings from this season.
Take care. @RCBTweets #RCB #IPL2018 pic.twitter.com/b0QM9chRAN
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) May 24, 2018

"We could not pull our way and we are not very proud of how the season went for us. (I'm) deeply hurt by how we played... deeply sorry for not living up to the expectations of the fans," Kohli said in a video posted on his Twitter page. "Having said that, it is all a part of life and you cannot always get what you want. It's upto the players to understand what to do about this the next season, really want to turn things around next season," he added.

Kohli posted the video message on a day he was ruled out of his Surrey County Cricket stint due to a neck injury. Kohli, who had notched up only 134 runs during the 2014 Tour of England, had hoped the County stint would help him prepare for the tracks in England, where India are scheduled to play five Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is.

Saw #SpiderMan Live today! 😮@abdevilliers17 #RCBvsSRH #IPL2018 pic.twitter.com/mUuGVKuTn4
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) May 17, 2018

According to a BCCI press release, Kohli suffered the injury during RCB's match against Sunrisers Hyderabad on May 17.

"Team India Captain Mr Virat Kohli suffered a neck injury while fielding during Match 51 of the VIVO IPL between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad on 17th May 2018 at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru," the BCCI statement says.

"Mr Kohli, who was scheduled to play for Surrey CCC in the month of June, has been ruled out from participating. This decision was taken following assessments by the BCCI Medical team, subsequent scans, and a specialist visit. The Team India captain will now undergo a period of rehabilitation under the supervision of the BCCI Medical team. He will begin training and subsequently undergo a fitness test at the NCA in Bengaluru from June 15. The BCCI Medical Team is confident that Mr Kohli will regain full fitness ahead of India's upcoming tours to Ireland and England."

#FLASH: @BCCI has confirmed this #Mirror story. Virat Kohli will not play the #SurreyCounty club cricket matches. pic.twitter.com/IcOXVjHK1U
— Mumbai Mirror (@MumbaiMirror) May 24, 2018

RCB did show some late spark in the round-robin stage but the turnaround came a little too late for them to have any chance. "Next year, we will be putting in more effort," Kohli asserted.

Not a robot, insists Kohli Not a robot, insists Kohli

Kohli is currently sixth in this year's list of top IPL scorers after amassing 548 runs at an average of 54.80 in 14 matches. De Villiers stands ninth in the same list with 480 runs at an average of 53.33.