Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will try to defend their title as they are all set to begin the campaign with renewed focus and intensity for the upcoming IPL season. Notably, RCB will start their title defence against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on 28th March at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.
While talking about the team during the first practice session of the season, Virat Kohli said, “We worked really hard over the last two to three seasons to achieve what we did last year, and it’s only going to get tougher because other teams are going to come hard at us.”
He again shared, “We don’t waste these days. We stay ahead. So switch on now. Let’s not waste even a minute of any session that we are a part of. We must give our 120% for these two and a half months.”
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Meanwhile, Head Coach Andy Flower welcomed new players, whom they bought, including Venkatesh Iyer, Mangesh Yadav, Jordan Cox, Vicky Ostwal and Satvik Deswal, while also mentioning Under-19 World Cup winners Kanishk Chouhan and Vihaan Malhotra as well.
“We had an interesting auction and I think we’ve improved our squad, to be quite frank. We’ve brought in some great new additions. Integrating them into the RCB way alongside established players led by Virat and Rajat is an exciting part of building this team,” again said Flower. “There is one difference this year, we’ve got a star on our shirt. That’s a very proud feeling for all RCB fans. But that season is gone. Now we have a new challenge ahead, and it’s an exciting one. We’re here to win this year’s IPL.”
“Our first game is here at Chinnaswamy, which is a fantastic opportunity for us to build momentum early and be welcomed by our home fans. The outfield is looking superb, lush, green and beautiful,” he further stated.
While talking about the energy within the group, veteran wicketkeeper-batter of RCB, Jitesh Sharma, shared his excitement about joining the squad as well.
“Everyone was very excited to meet each other. I was excited to get more batting time. I got a chance to meet all the coaches and train again,” he concluded.
