IPL 2023: I am just back to playing the way I do – Virat Kohli before new season

Royal Challengers Bangalore talisman batter Virat Kohli has admitted that he is just getting back to playing the way he used to. Kohli had to go through a rotten period in the last couple of seasons but he has been getting to his previous best since the Asia Cup 2022.

Kohli has scored five centuries across formats in the last eight months and he is excited to play in the IPL for RCB. The 34-year-old added he would look to deliver the goods for the franchise in the upcoming season.

In fact, Kohli had failed to deliver the goods in the previous season and he would want to turn the tables in the upcoming edition. The talisman had scored 341 runs in 16 matches in IPL 2022 at a below-par average of 22.73 and a strike rate of 115.98.

Meanwhile, Virat Kohli is the highest run-getter in the history of the IPL, amassing 6624 runs in 223 matches at an average of 36.2 and a strike rate of 129.15.

Speaking to RCB in a video uploaded on Twitter, Virat Kohli said, “I am just back to playing the way I do. There’s still a lot of room to get to my best which hopefully happens in the IPL if I am able to get to the level I want to play at and help the team and it will be exciting.”

Kohli had also taken a one-month-long break from the game before the Asia Cup and it had helped him rediscover his love for the game.

“It was about rediscovering my love for the game and I could do that only after I could step away from what was happening on the field for so long. I was absolutely exhausted and I needed to connect to myself as a human first and not judge myself constantly and keep myself under scrutiny all the time.”

Meanwhile, RCB will play at the Chinnaswamy after a long gap of four years and Kohli is excited to once again play in front of the home crowd.

“It’s one of the few things in recent years that I am really excited about. It is special because I know how much the fans want to see us in the stadium and the Chinnaswamy will be lit up again, the crowd will be buzzing and so will the players and it will be special with a special announcement. It will definitely be a day to remember.”

RCB will begin their IPL 2023 campaign against Mumbai Indians at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on 2nd April.