CHENNAI: The confidence gained from their exploits for India will help youngsters like Washington Sundar and Mohammed Siraj when they represent Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL, feels skipper Virat Kohli.
On the eve of their IPL-14 opener against defending champions Mumbai Indians, Kohli spoke about how his confidence after playing at the international level as a youngster rubbed off on him during the IPL, something that can also happen with Washington and Siraj, who have done well in recent Test matches.
“(What) I did as a youngster was bring in that confidence of international level at the IPL. Watching Washy, (Navdeep) Saini and Siraj coming onto their own and Yuzi has been around for a while, show their personalities, it will help us pull stronger as a team, and move in the right direction,” Kohli said during his interaction with RCB’s media team.
What has satisfied Kohli more than anything else is the presence of young “impact players” in his team, which, in turn, is a headache for the opposition.
“Our youngsters have become more confident with more experience. Now opposition knows that these guys can make an impact in any situation as well which is obviously a great sign for us.” Just like last year in the UAE, no team will get home advantage even in Indian conditions, which is a good thing, according to Kohli. “There’s nothing quite like playing at the Chinnaswamy but the good thing is we are back in India and one more positive like last year is that there is no home advantage,” he said.
“Every team is playing in neutral venues, and the strength of the side comes to the fore and precisely why last IPL was so competitive. Because every team was in reckoning to qualify for play-offs, save the last 3-4 games, which is great for the tournament as viewership last time went through the roof.
—PTI

Press Trust of India