The bio-bubbles have been tough on players and support staff during the long Australia tour and England tour. Before entering another bubble for IPL 2021, the Royal CHallengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Virat Kohli decided to take a small break and return home. Taking to Instagram, Kohli shared a photo of him with a caption, “nothing like home” as he was seen sitting in the balcony of his Mumbai apartment. Yuzvendra Chahal and Mohammed Siraj, who were also with Team India, however, joinedRCB camp in Chennai.
Virat Kohli said he will take a few days’ break in Mumbai before joining the RCB camp in Chennai for IPL 2021. RCB will face Mumbai Indians in the opening game on April 9.
However, with Kohli not entering the IPL 2021 bio-bubble directly and exiting Team India bio-secure bubble, he will need to serve a mandatory 7-day quarantine before joining the RCB camp in Chennai, as per BCCI’s guidelines. To play RCB’s first match, Kohli will need to begin quarantine on at least April 2. Otherwise, he would miss the first match.
Kohli rues about scheduling: After India’s historic series win against England, Kohli rued about the continuous series with players forced to spend longer duration in bio-bubbles. He said that continuous bio-bubbles were challenging and scheduling should be looked at.
“Scheduling needs to be looked at in future, because playing in bubbles for so long, two to three months, is going to be very, very difficult going forward. You can’t expect everyone to be at the same level of mental strength,” Kohli said at the post-match presentation on Sunday.
“Sometimes you do get cooked and you do feel like a bit of a change. I am sure things will be discussed and things will change in the future as well. But a different tournament, it brings fresh challenges heading into the IPL,” the Indian he added.
Bold Diaries: Team India to RCB
Yuzvendra Chahal and Mohammed Siraj joined the RCB camp ahead of Vivo IPL 2021. On @myntra presents Bold Diaries, we show you how the RCB crew enjoyed having the entire aircraft for themselves.#PlayBold #WeAreChallengers #IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/WKfe4157f8
— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) March 30, 2021
However, two other RCB players who were members of the Team India squad during the ODI series against England, Yuzvendra Chahal and Mohammed Siraj, reached Chennai to join the camp. They will not have to quarantine as they will be transferring from one bio-bubble to another. The duo will join the RCB practice from Monday evening.