IPL 2021: Players are more match-ready this year, says Kohli

The RCB skipper feels players are more match-ready this year for the IPL as they have got used to the life of bio-bubble plus the cricketers have a considerable amount of game time which they were devoid of prior to IPL 2020.

Chennai: Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain Virat Kohli has once again pointed at the need to have breaks between tours as it is "difficult to keep players motivated for a longer period of time" in bio-bubble amid the coronavirus pandemic.

"Bio bubble isn't easy, to be honest, or to be a part of as I have said in the recent past as well. Somethings that need to be considered going forward is how many cricket matches you actually play," said Kohli in a video posted on RCB's Twitter.

"You have the same area to roam around and it isn't easy to go through that repetition every time. Things get stale after a while, monotonous as well. So it is very difficult to find ways to keep yourself motivated for a longer period of time," he added.

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The 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will get underway from Friday as RCB begin their campaign against defending champions Mumbai Indians at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

The RCB skipper feels players are more match-ready this year for the IPL as they have got used to the life of bio-bubble plus the cricketers have a considerable amount of game time which they were devoid of prior to IPL 2020.

"Last time we got together way before the tournament started. So things probably were not as smooth as they are now. There is not much worry about whether people are gonna be bowling or batting well," said Kohli.

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"They have played a lot of cricket coming into this IPL. And they have gotten used to playing in this environment but as I said having had enough game time in the recent past, certainly gonna help players be more match ready this year than probably would have been the case last time," he added.

A good start against the defending champions is all that Kohli and Co. would hope for in their bid to lay the platform for a top finish in the tournament.