Virat Kohli: Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers and me can play freely this season

Virat Kohli

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Virat Kohli has said that the inclusion of the likes of Subramaniam Badrinath, Dinesh Karthik etc. has increased the batting depth of the franchise. He added that this advantage would help the likes of Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers and himself play with a lot more freedom.

RCB purchased a total of 9 players during the auction held in February, with their highest buy being Dinesh Karthik for a whopping Rs. 10.5 crores.

Kohli banking on strong batting unit

"It is a very strong batting unit this time and we have got really good depth with a great mixture of Indian youngsters and great bowlers from around the world and some good power hitters.

"This season the three of us can play the way we always wanted to play in T20 cricket like you see AB, playing the way he did in the World Cup. I am sure he will be feeling the same and he will be feeling relieved that he can start playing (his shots) from ball one, two or three. That is pretty exciting for us as a team.

"This season is pretty different for us because for the last three or maybe four years myself, Chris and AB have played under a lot of pressure because the batting revolved around the three of us. If you look at the few other teams, they have a lot of depth in their batting which meant the guys could go and express themselves and play freely that worked for them,” Kohli said at the jersey launch on Sunday.

Can RCB go all the way?

The Vijay Mallya-owned franchise have reached the final of the tournament on two occasions in 2009 and 2011, and the 26-year-old Delhi batsman feels that RCB have the team that can go all the way and clinch their maiden title this year.

“We always aim to do well in the tournament. We have played the semi-finals twice, played the final once, played the Champions League finals once and it is time that we cross that hurdle and we have a team which can cross the hurdle.

"I am sure that the players we have retained and bought in the auction, we can create a good combination which gives us a good chance in the tournament. If 11 players believe that we can win then we will surely do well in the tournament,” the right-hander said.