IPL 2017: I am keen to make it to the IPL final again, says Virat Kohli

India captain Virat Kohli admits that ideally it would have been better for his Men in Blue to have landed earlier in England for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy that’s begins on June 1. However, with the Indian Premier League-10 finishing on May 21, the Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper is equally keen to see his team play the final of the world’s richest franchise-based cricket tournament, like last year.
In an interview with mid-day, Kohli speaks about the IPL, the ICC Champions Trophy (June 1-18) and insists his injured shoulder is fine now.
Excerpts
Are you completely fit?
Yes, I am. There is no problem as far as my fitness and my shoulder injury are concerned.
Your thoughts on how the ongoing IPL is panning out…
I would personally like to play the final this year too (Sunrisers Hyderabad beat RCB by eight runs in the IPL-9 final in Bangalore), although I know we haven’t done well in the initial part of this edition of the tournament (RCB are in sixth place with just two wins from seven matches, while yesterday’s fixture against SRH was washed out).
Isn’t it heartening to see you best batsmen are in good touch?
Yes, touchwood, we are and we have to click at the right moment. We should all try our best.
What was the problem with Chris Gayle’s batting initially?
That’s in the past now. Chris is hitting the ball really well at the moment. I am hopeful that we will start winning matches soon.
When does the Indian team leave for the ICC Champions Trophy?
Ideally, we should have been spending some more time in London to get ourselves acclimatised to the conditions there before the Champions Trophy, but I don’t think it will be possible for the team to leave before May 25.
Your thoughts on Pakistan’s Younis Khan, who crossed the 10,000 Test-run mark recently…
I haven’t played many matches against him, may be just one or two, but I must say that he is a legend. Younis has really done well in the game.
Are you surprised that he is the first Pakistani batsman to score 10,000 Test runs?
Yes, I am really surprised that no other Pakistan batsman has scored 10,000-plus Test runs. Now, the current generation will have a someone to emulate. It’s a great milestone and he deserves it.