Amid the ongoing debate over workload management, Indian captain Virat Kohli has made a surprising statement. Kohli has said that he would not mind sitting out of a few encounters in order to remain fresh and sharp for the World Cup, which will be the bigger concern for all the teams and players.

"Yes.. that's a big possibility. Why not?. It's a personal responsibility. It is up to the players to give information on any niggle to the concerned people as soon as possible and work as per plan," Kohli said before the first match against Chennai Super Kings.

Virat Kohli, RCB
Virat KohliIANS

Kohli reiterated his statement and said that he believed players need to take up more responsibility individually and monitor their workload accordingly. Also, he said that the players needed to be in close contact with the physios and respect their verdict.

"We have told the players to be smart about how they feel on a particular day and then reporting to the physios. If he's told not to play, then he has to respect that," the captain said.

Franchises have trusted you to do a job for them

Speaking about the upcoming season, Kohli said that he was pumped up to give his 100 per cent out on the field as the franchise had kept their faith and other players should be committed as well. He wants the players to be competitive but maintain a balance at the same time.

"At the end of the day, I am very motivated to start tomorrow personally.. I don't know how competitive or how relaxed Indian players are going to be during the IPL. Every professional knows how to maintain a balance. Eventually you are playing for a franchise and they have trusted you to do a job for them," the captain said.

Virat Kohli, RCB, Badree, De Villiers, IPL 2017
Virat KohliIANS

About the clash, Kohli said that he was keen to focus on the process and not dwell too much on past history. He also did not want to give too much attention to head-to-head rivalries in this format.

"It is no like you focus only on playing those teams and not focus on teams you have lost against. Opposition this year doesn't matter for us. It is the vision we have and kind of cricket we want to play as a side and we will focus on that," he added.