For professional players, being away from the game is worrisome and that is true for even the best of the lot. That is why Virat Kohli, India and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain, was “pretty scared” when he hit the nets for the first time in five months following a coronavirus-forced hiatus.

RCB started training on Friday at the ICC Academy in Dubai. The first training session, however, went “better than expected”, Kohli added.

“It went much better than expected, to be honest. I was pretty scared. I hadn’t picked up a bat for five months, but yeah, it came out better than I thought,” Kohli was quoted as saying on the RCB website.

The 31-year-old, who has been RCB’s highest run-getter over the last three seasons, said staying fit during the lockdown helped him react better during the net session even though he was training after a long break.

“I’ve trained quite a bit during the lockdown, so I’m feeling quite fit and that helps. Because the body is light and you react better, I feel like I have more time on the ball. That’s a big plus,” he said.

Kohli was also impressed with how spinners Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar and Bengal’s Shahbaz Ahmed went about their business in the first training session.

“Shahbaz was good, Washy (Washington) was very good. I saw Chahal bowl well too. The seamers went through their motions a little bit. All in all, a decent start to our camp,” Kohli stated.

On the other hand, the Delhi Capitals squad too had their first nets on Saturday. Senior pro Shikhar Dhawan said it would take a few more days to regain usual standards.

“It’s very hot here, so I felt a little heaviness. I feel in two to four days, the body will acclimatise, and the sharpness and quickness will be back,” Dhawan said.

“It is important to think positive, we shouldn’t think that we are here after a long time, we have to stay one step ahead, we need to think we are playing good cricket,” the left-handed opener added.