'When I joined the franchise, I was shocked to see that': Ex-RCB star makes big statement on Virat Kohli
The former Royal Challengers Bangalore star noticed a significant change when he arrived at the franchise under Virat Kohli's captaincy.
Many cricketing superstars have played for Indian Premier League franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore, but one player who has remained with the side since the inaugural edition of the tournament is former India captain Virat Kohli. Throughout the years, Kohli emerged as one of the top batters in the league and is currently the highest run-scorer in the league, with 6,624 runs in 223 matches. The right-handed batter holds multiple IPL records including scoring the most number of runs in a single season (973 in IPL 2016).
Kohli is also credited with bringing about a fitness revolution in Indian cricket. His time as Indian captain witnessed a significant turn of attention towards players' fitness regimes, with specific focus on ‘Yo-Yo tests’ among other things. A similar culture cultivated under Kohli's leadership at the RCB and one of the franchise's former players, Mandeep Singh recently spoke about it as he recalled his time at the RCB.
Mandeep revealed that when he arrived at the franchise, he was “shocked” to see Kohli's commitment towards fitness.
“When I joined RCB, I was shocked to see Virat Kohli's intensity towards training. His fitness has been instrumental in making him a consistent performer in T20 cricket. It has helped the ballers improve and has helped test cricket overall,” Mandeep said in a ShareChat Audio Chatroom session – ‘CricChat powered by Parimatch’, as quoted by ANI.
Mandeep represented the Royal Challengers Bangalore between 2015-2018, and was part of the side that had reached the final of the 2016 edition. He played 30 IPL matches for the RCB before being bought by the Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) ahead of the 2019 season of the tournament. Mandeep currently plays for the Delhi Capitals, led by young wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant. In the last season, however, Mandeep struggled to perform, scoring only 18 runs in three games as DC narrowly missed out on securing a spot in the play-offs.
{{/usCountry}}Mandeep represented the Royal Challengers Bangalore between 2015-2018, and was part of the side that had reached the final of the 2016 edition. He played 30 IPL matches for the RCB before being bought by the Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) ahead of the 2019 season of the tournament. Mandeep currently plays for the Delhi Capitals, led by young wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant. In the last season, however, Mandeep struggled to perform, scoring only 18 runs in three games as DC narrowly missed out on securing a spot in the play-offs.
{{/usCountry}}Kohli, meanwhile, had stepped down from the RCB captaincy after the end of edition and was succeeded by veteran South Africa batter Faf du Plessis in the role. The Indian batter had an indifferent IPL 2022 season, scoring 341 runs in 16 matches.
{{/usCountry}}Kohli, meanwhile, had stepped down from the RCB captaincy after the end of edition and was succeeded by veteran South Africa batter Faf du Plessis in the role. The Indian batter had an indifferent IPL 2022 season, scoring 341 runs in 16 matches.
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