Virat Kohli aims to come back stronger after RCB's early exit from IPL 2023We must hold our heads high

By India Today Sports DeskVirat Kohli was dejected after Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) failed to make it through to the playoffs in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. RCB lost to defending champions Gujarat Titans (GT) by six wickets in their last league game at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium to crash out of the tournament.

Kohli became the third batter to score two IPL hundreds on the trot, after Jos Buttler and Shikhar Dhawan. But Shubman Gill become the fourth batter to achieve the feat and hand RCB a heart-breaking defeat in the latter’s backyard.

Kohli, who has seven IPL hundreds to his name, asked RCB to hold their heads high and make a strong comeback in the next season.

Kohli took to Instagram and wrote, “A season which had it’s moments but unfortunately we fell short of the goal. Disappointed, but we must hold our heads high. To our loyal supporters, grateful for backing us every step of the way. A big thank you to the coaches, management and my teammates. We aim to be back stronger.”

Skipper Faf du Plessis, in the meantime, was clear cut in saying that RCB didn’t deserve to qualify for the playoffs as they weren’t one of the best teams in the competition. Du Plessis, who is currently the Orange Cap holder of IPL 2023, said that RCB put in some brilliant individual performances, but failed to perform as a team.

“If we look at ourselves, we will be honest in saying that we weren’t one of the best teams in the competition. We were lucky that there were some really good performances throughout, but as a whole, we don’t deserve to be in the playoffs. We tried hard tonight but fell short,” du Plessis was quoted as saying.