Bengaluru, April 4: Captain Virat Kohli on Wednesday (April 4) said he remains as motivated and committed as ever to lead Royal Challengers Bangalore to a maiden Indian Premier League title. RCB have been the perennial under-achievers of the competition, failing to go all the way despite reaching the final thrice. It all went wrong for them last season when they finished last.
IPL special page | RCB squad | RCB full schedule
"More than the fans I want to win the Cup. I have been with Bangalore for last 10 years and we haven't crossed the final hurdle three times. I can assure you, my commitment is going to be 120 per cent to try and achieve the goal this time," said Kohli after a training session here on Wednesday.
It's always better to have a Captain who can ace the pre-match plan and the post match 'plan'. #PlayBold pic.twitter.com/U75H78oblk
— Royal Challengers (@RCBTweets) April 4, 2018
RCB have been short on batting firepower and Kohli feels this time the team has a good bowling line-up too. "The batting has been strong point for RCB over the years, but I think the strengthening of bowling department has been a massive boost for us from this auction. I am very optimistic about our chances heading into this IPL," said the skipper.
The franchise has a solid spin department comprising Yuvzendra Chahal, Washington Sundar, M Ashwin, Pawan Negi and England all-rounder Moeen Ali. There are plenty of pace options too in the presence of Umesh Yadav, England all-rounder Chris Woakes, Delhi's Navdeep Saini, Mohammad Siraj and New Zealander Tim Southee.
Trapping batsmen with crafty leg-spin bowling is easier, isn't it @yuzi_chahal?! #PlayBold pic.twitter.com/n6h8BoasbZ
— Royal Challengers (@RCBTweets) April 4, 2018
On new players bought in the auction, Kohli said they are very excited to be part of RCB and he had the joy of playing with some of them. "Some of them I know personally. We picked up players who could contribute to our culture and not be so worried about their personal performances," he said.
They didn't know what the skipper had in store for them. Here's what they thought the 12th Man was all about! #PlayBold pic.twitter.com/F6CRmD3lId
— Royal Challengers (@RCBTweets) April 4, 2018
Meanwhile, former cricketer SL Venkatapathy Raju felt the IPL offered a great platform for young Indian players to showcase their talent. "A lot of Indian players, including spinners, have got the chance to play in this year's edition of IPL," Raju said at a promotional event in Hyderabad.
Raju was a renowned India left-arm spinner during the 1990s. The 11th edition of IPL begins with a match between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings in Mumbai.