Royal Challengers Bangalore have had such a miserable Indian Premier League season that the players at times laughed at their own misfortune, captain Virat Kohli said. RCB have won only two of the 13 games they have played so far, and lost 10, with one being washed out. They currently sit at the bottom of the table and are guaranteed to finish the season there.
Kohli said he was glad his teammates accepted whatever has happened rather than pointing fingers. “It’s very easy to get frustrated and point fingers when you are not doing well, but I think we have embraced and accepted what has happened,” he said, as reported by the Times of India.
“We have tried to laugh it off at times,” he added. “There have been so helpless situations that we have come back to the changing room laughing. We could never think we would experience something like this as a team. It can happen to one or two players, but all 11 feeling the same way is rare.”
RCB were one of the favourites for the title this season, after reaching the final last year. The remarkable turnaround in their fortunes has surprised everyone, including the players, who Kohli said are hurting. “The kind of season we have had needs no explanation,” he said. “As players, it hurts us the most. We tried everything to turn things around but it just didn’t happen. These things happen sometimes. Last year was great for us, this year has been the opposite. You have to accept them and move forward.”
Asked how the RCB players motivated themselves after every passing defeat, Kohli said it has been quite difficult. “It’s not easy to pick yourself up after the kind of results that we have had,” he said. “It gets tough when you are pushing the team forward in whatever way you can and not getting the desired results.”
He added, “That’s when you expect the players who you believe are good enough at this level to step up, motivate themselves and take ownership of the team. If things are not going well, all you can do is maintain a bit of patience and calmness around the change room and not let issues fly around. That’s something we have done well this year.”
Kohli said that he and the other RCB players have learnt a lot from this season, adding that it can only get better from here. “We have all learnt a lot from this season and I am sure the guys realise a lot about themselves, their games and we are only going to get better from here on. It can’t get any worse. It is an opportunity to start fresh.”