Spirited India reach Champions Trophy hockey semis

New Delhi, Apr 25: The love and loyalty of the fans will never let him leave Royal Challengers Bangalore till the time he is playing IPL, skipper Virat Kohli said on Friday.

RCB have reached the IPL final thrice but have not gone on to win the trophy.

During a live session on Instagram with former South African captain and RCB teammate AB de Villiers, Kohli said winning the tournament remains the goal but he would not leave the team irrespective of the results.

"It has been such an amazing journey. It is always going to be our dream, winning the IPL together. There is no scenario where I could think of leaving the team ever.

"You can feel emotional about the season not going well but till the time I am playing IPL, I am never leaving this team. The fans, their loyalty has been amazing," said the India skipper.

Responding to Kohli's feelings towards RCB, De Villiers too acknowledged the support of fans over the past nine years. Kohli, on the other hand, has been with RCB since 2008.

"Same for me. I never want to leave RCB but to do that I got to keep scoring runs. I am not the captain you see," said the South African in jest.

Both recalled their early days in international cricket and their growth as cricketers and friends.

Kohli said at times, the youngsters coming in have too much regard for the "system" and he wants to see them break the norm.

"I want to see youngsters coming in scoring 500-600 runs. I want people to break the norm. Sometimes I feel people have too much regard for the system in sport. When you break the shackles, you do something special."

Kohli also acknowledged contribution of Mark Boucher, Gary Kirsten and Duncan Fletcher early on in his international career.

"Gary always gave me positive feedback. Boucher told me in 2008 to improve my game against the short ball. He had the vision. Then Fletcher, he had a keen eye for the game. So many people who have contributed (to my growth)," said Kohli.

De Villiers picked the 119 at Wankhede in the 2015 series decider as his best knock against India. Kohli picked the 119 he scored in Johannesburg Test in 2013.

"I was always really motivated to win the series after 2-2 . I was incredibly motivated to do something special," de Villiers said.

They also picked their combined South Africa and India ODI team. It included Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ab de Villiers, Jacques Kallis, M S Dhoni (captain), Yuvraj Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Dale Steyn, Jasprit Bumrah and Kagiso Rabada.

New Delhi, Apr 9: The legendary Kapil Dev on Thursday slammed Shoaib Akhtar's idea of a made-for-television three-match ODI series between India and Pakistan to raise funds for the Covid19 pandemic, saying "India doesn't need the money" and it is not worth risking lives for a cricket match.

Speaking to news agency, Akhtar on Wednesday proposed a closed-door series to jointly raise funds to fight the deadly virus both in India and Pakistan. Dev said the proposal is not feasible.

"He is entitled to his opinion but we don't need to raise the money. We have enough. For us, what is important right now is how our authorities work together to deal with this crisis. I am still seeing a lot of blame game on television from the politicians and that needs to stop," Dev said.

"Anyway, the BCCI has donated a hefty amount (Rs 51 crore) for the cause and is in a position to donate much more if the need arises. It doesn't need to raise funds.

"The situation is unlikely to get normal anytime soon and organising a cricket game means putting our cricketers at risk which we don't need to," said the World Cup-winning former captain.

Dev said cricket should not even matter for at least the next six months.

"It is just not worth the risk. And how much money can you make from three games? In my view, you can't even think of cricket for the next five to six months," he said.

Dev said the focus, at the moment, should only be on saving lives and taking care of the poor who are struggling to make ends meet in a lockdown situation.

"Cricket will resume when things get normal. The game can't be bigger than the country. The pressing issue is to look after the poor, the hospital workers, the police and all other people who are on the frontline of this war," said the 61-year-old.

As an Indian, Dev feels proud that his country is in a position help other nations including the United States.

President Donald Trump has thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for helping the United States with the supply of hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial drug being touted as a potential cure for Covid19 patients.

"Helping others is in our culture and I feel proud about that. We should not seek credit after helping others. We should strive to become a nation which gives more and more rather than taking from others," he said.

Like everyone else, Dev is at home and practising social distancing.

Asked how he views the current situation, he said: "Nelson Mandela stayed in a tiny cell for 27 years. Compared to that, we are in a privileged position (that we just have to stay at home for sometime)."

"There is nothing bigger than life at the moment and that is what we need to save."

New Delhi, Mar 12: No foreign player will be available for this year's IPL till April 15 due to visa restrictions imposed by the government to contain the novel coronavirus threat, a top BCCI source told PTI on Thursday, casting fresh doubts on the fate of the event.

"The foreign players who play in the IPL come under the Business Visa category. As per the government's directive, they can't come till April 15," a BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

The government issued fresh advisory with a ban on all existing foreign visas, except a few categories like diplomatic and employment, till April 15 in the wake of new positive cases of novel coronavirus in the country.

India has reported 60 positive cases in the outbreak which has led to over 4,000 deaths globally.

The fate of the IPL itself will be decided on March 14 at the event's Governing Council meeting in Mumbai. "All decisions will be taken by the GC in Mumbai," the source said.

Having the IPL, starting March 29, played in empty stadiums is an option being explored.