Virat Kohli candidly reveals biggest worry at the back of his mind ahead of IPL 2021

The Indian team has constantly been on the road since the last year's IPL which started in September and concluded in November. The IPL 2020 was followed by an exhausting two-month tour of Australia after which the Men in Blue competed with England at home across all three formats of the game. The recently-concluded home series also lasted 2 months.

Virat Kohli raises concern over scheduling of matches and exhausting bio-bubble life

The Indian players are now set to feature in the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League which will run for another couple of months. As soon as the IPL 2021 is over, the Indian team has to travel to England where they will compete with New Zealand in the World Test Championship Finals (WTC final) from June 18-22 followed by India's tour of England in August.

The endless cricketing action is sure to leave the players fatigued but it's the bio-bubble and the restrictions that come along with it that have made the lives of the cricketers all the more difficult. Speaking about the same, Indian skipper Virat Kohli raised his concerns regarding the scheduling of the matches and pointed out how cricketers are finding it difficult to adapt after months of bio-secure bubble life during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

During the presentation ceremony after India's series win over England in the third ODI, Kohli said that scheduling needs to be looked at in future because playing in ‘bubbles’ for so long, two to three months, is going to be very, very difficult going forward. He added that one can’t expect everyone to be at the same level of mental strength.

According to the Indian captain, there are times when one gets cooked and feels like a bit of a change. Kohli was hopeful that all the aforementioned things will be discussed going forward and things will change in future. The RCB captain also expressed his excitement for the IPL 2021, saying that it is a different tournament that will bring fresh challenges and he is looking forward to it.

Meanwhile, Kohli is all set to lead the RCB team 2021 in the upcoming IPL season. The Virat Kohli RCB captain record is a mixed one to say the least, but he has been given the backing to lead his side again when they take on defending champions Mumbai Indians in the opening match of the tournament on April 9. As per RCB's IPL schedule, they are slated to play three matches in Chennai, two in Mumbai, four at the newly-renovated Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad and five of them at Kolkata respectively. Glenn Maxwell is amongst the biggest names set for a debut in the franchise.

RCB team 2021

RCB players retained

Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers, Devdutt Padikkal, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Josh Philippe, Pavan Deshpande, Shahbaz Ahmed, Adam Zampa, Kane Richardson, Daniel Sams and Harshal Patel.

RCB players purchased at IPL 2021 auction

Glenn Maxwell, Mohammed Azharuddeen, Sachin Baby, Kyle Jamieson, KS Bharat, Rajat Patidar, Dan Christian and Suyash Prabhudessai.

SOURCE: BCCI.TV