RCB fans miss injury-hit Kohli, de Villiers

Bengaluru, April 8 (IANS) The absence of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain Virat Kohli and its dangerous batsman A.B. de Villiers from the team in the league tie against Delhi Daredevils of the 2017 Indian Premiere League (IPL-T20) at the Chinnaswamy stadium here on Saturday left their die-hard fans badly disappointed.

With the Jamaican southpaw Chris Gayle getting out cheaply for 6 in 8 balls, absence of Kohli and de Villiers was keenly felt as RCB could post only 157 for 8 in 20 overs after stand-in skipper Shane Watson winning the toss and elected to bat first.

Kohli, who sustained shoulder injury in the Third Test against Australia at Ranchi last month while fielding, has been out of action since then as he is yet to fully recover. Similarly, the South African wicket-keeper has been down with back ache.

Though Kohli and de Villiers were seen at the pre-match nets, practicing with team players, they did not play even in this season's opener against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Wednesday in Hyderabad.

RCB's English pacer Tymal Mills hinted on Friday that Kohli and de Villiers would be playing for the team in the upcoming league ties once the medical team certified them fully fit.

"AB is likely play in the next game here against Mumbai Indians on April 14 and Kohli will lead the team once he is fully recovered from the shoulder injury," a team official told IANS here.

"We miss the scintillating batting of Kohli and mighty shots of AB as both are great batsmen in their own league. As Chris Gayle is yet to get into form, return of Kohli and AB will strengthen RCB's batting, as the Indian captain had a great season over the year in all the three formats of the game," Ravi Kumar, a college student, told IANS.