The hectic schedule of IPL which includes a lot of traveling can take a toll on the health of the players and the skipper is wary of that. (PTI Photo)Indian captain Virat Kohli warned his players to not drift away from “the one-day mould of things” during the upcoming Indian Premier League season. The upcoming 12th edition of the IPL starts on March 23 while the World Cup starts on May 30.
“They have to make sure that their games don’t go (drift) too much away from the one-day mould of things. That means we will have to be very wary of the bad habits that might creep in during the IPL,” Kohli told reporters ahead of their first T20I against Australia.
“That will take a consistent effort from all the players during the IPL to keep a check on that. The moment you enter the nets and create bad habits, you lose the momentum and you lose batting form. It is very difficult to get it back in a tournament like the World Cup,” said Kohli with reference to the tendency of players to go for flashy shots in the IPL.
With the BCCI yet to reach a common ground with the franchises on the workload management of the IPL-bound players, Kohli wants his players to be “responsible” and not over-exert themselves.
“If your team is in a great position during the tournament, you don’t mind taking 2-3 games off also. It all depends on how you feel physically but everyone has to be really honest about it to themselves and accordingly see how they feel and not push themselves to the limit that might hamper the Indian team later on,” Kohli said.
“As a cricketer, you have to map out how many practice sessions you really need. If you are hitting the ball well, there is no need to go to a practice session and tire yourself out for three hours whereas you can utilise that particular phase to rest and recover even more,” said Kohli, who will be donning Royal Challengers Bangalore jersey for the 12th year.
The hectic schedule of IPL which includes a lot of travelling can take a toll on the health of the players and the skipper is a bit wary about that.
“The amount you practice, with the amount of travel during the IPL and the number of games in different conditions, in different temperatures, it is going to be challenging, to be honest,” Kohli said.
For Kohli, he is ready to walk the talk when he leads RCB in the IPL.
“I would look to continue in the same way that I have in all formats over the years and not do anything fancy. Frame of mind is the most important thing getting into the World Cup, and we need 15 people who are confident and mentally happy.”
