IPL 2021: 'Neutral venues will make it competitive,' says Virat Kohli

RCB skipper Virat Kohli during a match against SRH at Sharjah in the UAE last October. Pic/BCCI; IPL

Exactly 149 days after Mumbai Indians won a record fifth Indian Premier League trophy at Dubai on November 10 last year, Rohit Sharma & Co will step out today to begin the defence of their title when they take on Royal Challengers Bangalore at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

In an ideal scenario, MI's home ground - Wankhede Stadium - would have been hosting the season-opening encounter, but the tournament's scheduling is that none of the eight teams will be able to take advantage of their home conditions.

Given the severity of the COVID-19 situation, it has been decided that matches will be played behind closed doors at least until the rapid surge in Coronavirus cases is brought under control. BCCI has created six bio-secure bubbles - Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Delhi.

‘Fans will miss us'

RCB skipper Virat Kohli feels that the neutral venues will bring out the best in the teams. "There is nothing quite like playing at the Chinnaswamy Stadium [RCB's home ground] in front of your home crowd. I understand and agree with that. Obviously, the fans are going to miss watching us play but such is the time that we are in right now," said Kohli during a virtual interaction with RCB's media team on the eve of the opening clash of IPL-14.

"The good thing is that we are back in India and one more positive thing about this edition, like last year, is that there is no home advantage. Everyone is playing at neutral venues and the strength of your squad really comes to the fore. This is precisely why the last IPL was competitive and until about the last three to four games, everyone was in the reckoning to qualify [for the playoffs] which I think is great for the tournament. The tournament is going to be competitive," added Kohli.

Interestingly, teams that were structured after keeping in mind specific home conditions may have to alter their plans due to the neutral venues. For example, the Chepauk track, in comparison to the other five venues, will be the most helpful to spinners. So, as many as three spinners could be part of the team combination today.

Relaxed approach

"I feel relaxed with the resources we have. I'm looking forward to being in the park...that first game on the ground as a team," said Kohli, whose RCB were ousted in the Eliminator at the last edition. The Bangalore side are still in search of their maiden IPL title, but before that, they will look to prevent the Mumbai Indians from winning their opening game for the ninth consecutive season.