Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli on Monday gave a stern warning to his RCB teammates regarding breaching the bio-secure protocols in the UAE during the course of the Indian Premier League tournament. The IPL is set to begin next month and the players will be placed under a bio-secure bubble for the entire duration of the tournament.
During a virtual conference call between all the players and RCB staff members, uploaded on RCB Twitter handle, Kohli laid out the laws, and said that he wants everyone to be on the same page.
“We have followed what’s been told to us and I would expect everyone to be on the same page in terms of securing the bubble at all times and making sure that nothing is compromised. Because I think one mistake by anyone of us could literally spoil the whole tournament.
“And none of us want to do that. We have to understand that we need to protect the bubble. I can’t wait to get to our first practice session, something that we all are going to cherish. An opportunity to create a good team culture from Day 1,” Kohli said.
“For me, it’s all about what can I do to create an environment where everyone feels a part of the team equally and everyone feels responsible for where we want to go equally. And all of us have to do our part to do that, especially the seniors,” he added.
Kohli also asked RCB’s director of cricket operations Mike Hesson to brief the players on what will be the consequences of breaching the Covid-19 protocols. ”If there is a breach of bubble, and it is a wilful issue, then it becomes a contractual issue between the player and RCB. It will be dealt with seriously,” Hesson said.
“For accidental breach, players will be removed and sent into isolation for seven days and then come back only after he tests negative to be allowed to be back in bubble again. There will be strong consequences if players chose to do that (violate protocols). Players will sign a document that explains the consequences,” he added.
Kohli further said that a player getting in such a situation will be letting the entire team down.“If someone ends up in situation like this, for me that’s letting the whole team down. It might happen in a situation where the team cannot afford to lose the player.
“And if he does so, and we get harmed by it, the whole team, the whole system, the whole culture loses. I wanted to talk about it so that everyone understands the repercussions that might take place if we violate any of the rules,” he said.
RCB will be looking to win their first IPL title when the tournament kicks off from September 19th in the UAE. The matches will take place in three cities – Sharjah, Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
