IPL: Kohli Says Personal Honors 'Don't Matter', Confident RCB Will Bounce Back

Virat Kohli remains unfazed despite his side, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), making a poor start in the 11^th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) that is underway at the moment.

The Bangalore outfit always starts the tournament as one of the favorites owing to their explosive team lineup, which looks formidable on paper, but they are yet to win a single edition of the tournament despite making three final appearances thus far.

The RCB batting unit this season comprises of some of the most fearsome hitters in world cricket namely, Kohli, who is the captain of the side, South Africa’s AB De Villiers and New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum. But despite their presence in the team, RCB have struggled to win matches, getting just one win in their first four matches in the ongoing campaign.

The Bangalore outfit lost their opening match of the campaign to Kolkata Knight Riders, but came back strong to record their first win of the season against Kings XI Punjab on home soil. However, they lost their next two matches against Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians, with both times the required total crossing the 200-run mark.

The Royal Challengers have always been a batting heavy side, but after the auction this season, it looked like they had solved their bowling weakness with the additions of Umesh Yadav, Chris Woakes and upcoming young off-spinner Washington Sundar. At the moment, though, it still looks to be a problem with the bowlers being unable to contain the opposition.

Kohli, however, is refusing to panic and has made it clear his team will bounce back and return to winning ways sooner rather than later. They are only four games into their 14-game regular season and are four points behind the leaders — Knight Riders, and everyone is aware that succeeding in the IPL is all about hitting form when it matters.

“Well, it's not even 10 days into the tournament. We are not thinking that way. We can't still and analyse the entire league right now where we have played just four games and people seem happy to jump the gun pretty soon which we don't do as a team. If we as a team think like the people outside then there is no point playing the game," Kohli said during an exclusive chat with Indian news broadcaster Times Now.

RCB’s last two losses to Rajasthan and Mumbai have yielded some positives with the main one being Kohli’s return to form. The India cricket captain scored an unbeaten 92 to become the highest run scorer in IPL history and also take possession of the Orange Cap, which is given to the leading run scorer during the ongoing season.

The RCB skipper made it clear that he is not interested in personal honors if the team is not winning, but is certain they can turn their form around in the coming games. Their next assignment is against Delhi Daredevils on Saturday at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore.

"Orange cap and all those don't matter to me when the team is not winning. If you are winning and your contributions aren't small as well, those are the things you take pride in. So we aren't even thinking of analyzing the season yet as it is a long road ahead and in our most successful seasons we have actually made a late comeback to make it to the playoffs. I strongly believe we will pick up at the right time,” the Indian batsman added.