Happy to be back: Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers arrive in Chennai

The South African star AB de Villiers arrived in Chennai and joined the Royal Challengers Bangalore bio-bubble ahead of the IPL 2021.

Upon arriving, de Villiers expressed that he is looking forward to playing alongside his old mate Dan Christian and Australia’s Glenn Maxwell.  The 37-year-old is optimistic that the team can carry the momentum from the last year’s tournament.

“Very happy, it’s different to arrive in Chennai but we are just happy to be here safe in one piece. It was quite a long journey with my family. Very happy to be back with RCB. It feels like yesterday that we finished the IPL. I feel that we still have momentum from the last tournament. We’re gonna have a lot of fun. There are some new names but also old names, guys that I have known for ages. Dan (Christian) has been at RCB before. It’s Maxi’s (Glenn Maxwell) first time but we have all seen him so often in IPL and he feels like almost part of the family already. I think he’ll fit very well with the RCB boys. Hopefully, a lot of games to win for us together. “ - The Protea star said.

If the fans were elated after catching a glimpse of AB de Villiers, little did they know that there was more in store for them. Much to the delight of the fans, the RCB skipper Virat Kohli too joined the RCB bubble on Thursday. The 32-year-old spoke about his excitement heading into the brand new season of IPL. He further added that there is a good feeling within the camp this time around.

“It feels surreal, honestly, it doesn’t feel like we went away for too long. There was a lot of cricket in between as well. Very excited that we are playing in India again, although in a different way and different setting. Very happy and optimistic, I have a good feeling this time around.” - the skipper added. 

The 14th edition of IPL will get underway with a blockbuster clash between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore on April 9 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. RCB began their nine-day conditioning camp on Tuesday at the Centre for Sports Science (CSS) facility in Chennai.