“Bit of a niggle in his knee, don't think it is anything serious” - Sanjay Bangar provides an injury update on Virat Kohli

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) head coach Sanjay Bangar confirmed that star batter Virat Kohli suffered a niggle in his knee during the match against Gujarat Titans (GT) on Sunday, May 21. He, however, asserted that there is not something to worry with regard to Kohli's fitness.

RCB went down to GT by six wickets in the last league game of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. The defeat knocked out Bangalore form the playoffs race.

There was an injury scare for RCB when Kohli left the field after jarring his knee while taking the catch to dismiss Vijay Shankar (53).

In a post-match press conference, Bangar played down concerns over Kohli’s injury. He stated:

"Yeah, he had a bit of a niggle in his knee. But I don't think there is anything serious. Having scored two back-to-back hundreds within a gap of four days is a special achievement. He is somebody who not only wants to contribute with the bat but even when he is fielding. He did a lot of running around.

“Forty overs a couple of days ago and today [Sunday], for 35 overs he was on the field, he was giving his best. So it is going to bother at some point, but I don't think it’s anything serious.”

Earlier, Kohli hammered an unbeaten 101 off 61 balls as RCB posted 197/5 after being asked to bat. Shubman Gill’s (104* off 52) ton, however, saw GT cruise past the total.

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“You have to be patient with young players” - Bangar on young players failing to deliver

While Kohli, skipper Faf du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell and Mohammed Siraj had an impressive season for RCB, the young guns in the squad could not make many significant contributions.

Bangar admitted that the aspect hurt Bangalore’s progress, but added that the youngsters need to be treated with patience.

The RCB head coach commented:

“Some of the players who have been part of our scouting system have actually gone on and done really well. You see Rajat Patidar, who was again a part of our talent scouting system. The local guy, [Vijaykumar] Vyshak was very impressive throughout the season." Bangar added. "You have to be patient with young players. That is one thing that most teams agree on. You have to invest time in them.

“Mahipal [Lomror] had his share of innings, but he should have been a little more consistent. It’s a work in progress. I agree that they didn’t really have the kind of season that some other younger players may have had with other franchises.”

While Lomror scored 135 in 12 innings at an average of 16.88, Vyshak picked up nine wickets in seven games, averaging 28.11.