Revealed: The Reason Behind Royal Challengers Bangalore Leaving For UAE Without Virat Kohli

Royal Challengers Bangalore landed in Dubai on Friday (August 21) for the thirteenth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The entire competition will be held in UAE this year because of the alarming coronavirus situation in India. IPL 2020 will get underway on September 19 while the final is scheduled to take place on November 10.

The teams started leaving for UAE after the August 20 deadline and most of the eight franchises have already landed in the gulf country. Royal Challengers Bangalore also did not waste much time in leaving India for UAE to start their preparation at the earliest for the upcoming season.

The three-time champions posted a photo of the squad on board while leaving for UAE.

Here is the tweet from the franchise:

UAE calling! ✈️??

The Royal Challengers are all set to take-off!

Drop a ❤️ if you’re happy to see the RCB fam together again! #<!---->P<!---->l<!---->a<!---->y<!---->B<!---->o<!---->l<!---->d #<!---->T<!---->r<!---->a<!---->v<!---->e<!---->l<!---->D<!---->a<!---->y<!---->s #<!---->I<!---->P<!---->L<!---->2<!---->0<!---->2<!---->0 p<!---->i<!---->c<!---->.<!---->t<!---->w<!---->i<!---->t<!---->t<!---->e<!---->r<!---->.<!---->c<!---->o<!---->m<!---->/<!---->n<!---->H<!---->L<!---->j<!---->6<!---->T<!---->U<!---->e<!---->g<!---->V

— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) A<!---->u<!---->g<!---->u<!---->s<!---->t<!----> <!---->2<!---->1<!---->,<!----> <!---->2<!---->0<!---->2<!---->0

But while the flight was full of players, their captain Virat Kohli was nowhere to be seen. A number of fans asked the franchise about the same as the eagle-eyed fans could not find the India skipper in the flight. Later, Royal Challengers Bangalore tweeted a separate photo to confirm that Virat Kohli has landed in UAE.

You’ve all been asking! So there you go. Captain Kohli is in the house! ???#<!---->P<!---->l<!---->a<!---->y<!---->B<!---->o<!---->l<!---->d #<!---->I<!---->P<!---->L<!---->2<!---->0<!---->2<!---->0 p<!---->i<!---->c<!---->.<!---->t<!---->w<!---->i<!---->t<!---->t<!---->e<!---->r<!---->.<!---->c<!---->o<!---->m<!---->/<!---->g<!---->I<!---->0<!---->y<!---->p<!---->U<!---->H<!---->o<!---->x<!---->P

— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) A<!---->u<!---->g<!---->u<!---->s<!---->t<!----> <!---->2<!---->1<!---->,<!----> <!---->2<!---->0<!---->2<!---->0

Reason behind Virat Kohli missing from the team’s flight:

Well, the fans could not spot Virat Kohli in the flight because he was not in it. The Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper reportedly travelled to UAE on a separate charter flight. According to a report in Bangalore Mirror, while all the Indian players and support staff took off from Bengaluru, the captain had to fly out of Mumbai because of bio-safety issues.

The report further stated that Virat Kohli did not want to endanger himself due to the pandemic situation and took a separate flight from Mumbai, where he lives.

“He had quarantined himself in Mumbai and also tested himself for Covid-19. So he could not come to Bengaluru. He flew alone by a charter flight from Mumbai,” a spokesperson of the franchise was quoted as saying by the news outlet.

Royal Challengers Bangalore will be looking to end their title drought in the upcoming season. They have made it to the final of the competition thrice – 2009, 2011 and 2016 – but ended up on the wrong side of the result on every occasion. Their performance in the last few years has been a lot worse.

Since making it to the final in 2016, they have not managed to make it past the league stage. In last three seasons, they have finished at the bottom twice while on the other occasion, they finished at a lowly sixth spot in the eight-team competition.

Also Read: BCCI Congratulates Rohit Sharma, Deepti Sharma And Ishant Sharma On Being Conferred With The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna And Arjuna Award

Also Read: Mohammad Nabi Hails IPL As The Most Competitive League In The World