Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) batter Virat Kohli suffered an injury in his right knee during IPL 2023 match against Gujarat Titans (GT) at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangal♌ore on Sunday (May 21).
It was the last league match of the tournament and RCB faced a six-wicket defeat at the hands of defending champion Titans. With that, RCB’s dream of winning their maiden IPL trophy once again came to an end.
Kohli proved to be a lone warrior for the Bangalore side. He not only scored a remarkable century and led the team to a competitive total of 197 for the loss of five wickets but also took a brilliant catch to dismiss dangerous looking Vijay Shankar. GT were cruising towards victory as opener Shubman Gill and No.3 Shankar had added a valuable partnership of 123 runs. But the🥂 superb catch by Kohli gave an outside chance to his team to register a win. Unfortunately, he injured his knee while completing the catch.
The former RCB skipper was seen limping after taking the stunning grab. A physio examined him, with Kohli subsequently walking off the field. He watched the last five overs of the game from the dugout. However, in the post-game press conference, RCB head coach Sanjay Bangar gave an update on Kohli’s injury, reiterating that it is not serious.
“Yeah, he had a bit of a niggle in his knee. But I do not think there is anything serious. Having scored two back-to-back hundreds within a gap of 4 days, he is somebody who not only wants to contribute with the bat but even when he is fielding. He did a lot of running around. 40 overs a couple of days ago and today, for 35 overs he was on the field. He was giving his best. So it is going to bother at some point but I don’t think it’s anything serious,” said Bangar after the match.
Kohli is among seven Indian players who will fly out to England on Tuesday to begin preparation for the all-important World Test Championship final (WTC) 2023 against Australia.
Fit Kohli is both an asset and a necessity for Team India. His red-hot form will be crucial for the Indian side as they are set to play the WTC final in London, starting June 7. Later, the Asia Cup and the 50-over World Cup in India are also coming up, where Virat’s presence is a must for his team.
