A day after the completion of the India-England ODI series, skipper Virat Kohli hit the gym in order to start his preparations for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021. The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain shared a short video of him running on the treadmill.
“no rest days. From here on, it’s all about speed #IPL,” tweeted Kohli.
No rest days. From here on its all about speed #IPL pic.twitter.com/ULkpYmO1uI
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) March 29, 2021
A few moments later, RCB’s vice-captain AB de Villiers responded and shared a picture of him with travel bags, saying he is all ready to join the team.
“Loving the form @imVkohli .. I’m all packed to join the team,” ABD wrote.
Loving the form @imVkohli .. I’m all packed to join the team pic.twitter.com/6rBIV3T3EH
— AB de Villiers (@ABdeVilliers17) March 29, 2021
After De Villiers’ response, captain Kohli couldn’t stop himself from teasing his deputy. The Delhi-lad hoped the former South Africa cricketer is still fast between the wickets.
Notably, De Villiers has retired from the international arena and only play in few T20 leagues around the world.
“Hope you’re still fast between the wickets,” Kohli teased De Villiers.
Hope you’re still fast between the wickets.
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) March 29, 2021
However, the friendly banter didn’t just stop there as ‘Mr 360’ threw a challenge to the Indian run-machine. De Villiers asked Kohli to have a race with him in order to find out whether he is still fast or not. He wrote: “Let’s race tomorrow to find out.”
Let’s race tomorrow to find out
— AB de Villiers (@ABdeVilliers17) March 29, 2021
Speaking about the IPL, it is all set to begin on April 9. The opening game will be played between reigning champions Mumbai Indians (MI) and RCB at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Unlike the previous time, this year’s lucrative league will take place entirely in India.
However, due to the COVID-19 scare, the BCCI has only chosen six places to stage the fourteenth season of IPL. These places are Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. Further, every team is supposed to play at neutral venues.