Virat Kohli has fully recovered from the shoulder injury that kept him out since the Ranchi Test against Australia last month. He trained with his IPL team, Royal Challengers Bangalore, on Wednesday and Thursday, and struck the ball cleanly in the nets. On the eve of RCB's home match against Mumbai Indians, Kohli arrived about ten minutes early for the press conference, grinning from ear to ear. He confirmed that he was fit to play on Friday and that he will take over the captaincy from Shane Watson.

"Yeah [eager to get back to playing], and it has been a while since I sat on this chair," Kohli said. "I got hit [on the shoulder] on the 16th [of last month], so it has almost been a month since I was injured and it is never a good feeling when you have played for seven-eight years without missing a game at all.

"Resting [from a game] is different, missing because of injury is very different. I am just delighted to be back. Maybe that [injury] was just to reignite the spark in you that needs to stay. When you play a lot of cricket that can tend to go down. Luckily, it has stayed and now I am more excited to take the field."

Kohli did not travel with the side for the game against Kings XI Punjab, and instead stayed back in Bengaluru to work on his fitness. Kohli said it was "refreshing" for him to stay away from the spotlight.

"In Hyderabad [in the season opener], I was called by the IPL because of the captain's meet for the spirit of cricket and the initial inauguration," Kohli said. "Me and David Warner were called because we played the finals last year. I came back early the next day after the game, before the team, because I wanted to come and practice.

"Then the trainer stayed back in Bangalore with me to do strength work on my shoulder and monitor the strength in my shoulder. I had one hit at the nets as well, so it was a conscious decision [not to travel with the team]. Once you travel with the team a lot is happening and to focus on one guy is not fair… So just wanted to let the guys to focus on their game and do the work on the sidelines. I actually enjoyed staying away from it a little bit. Not having the camera and sitting in the dugout."

Kohli's return comes as a timely boost for RCB, who have lost two games out of three. Kohli also indicated that Chris Gayle, who had been left out for AB de Villiers in Indore, is likely to play a bigger role at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Gayle is the second-highest scorer at this venue in the IPL, behind Kohli himself, with 1508 runs in 39 innings at an average of 45.69 and a strike rate of 163.

"When you want to create a combination, you throw in all sorts of names as far as the away guys are concerned," Kohli said. "Chris[Gayle] has always been a priority for us in the past so many seasons. Last game was a scenario where AB [de Villiers] came in and Watto [Shane Watson] was captaining, and the other two guys [Billy Stanlake and Tymal Mills] were bowling well. So it was difficult to leave three of the others out and AB is in anyway. With that regard, that was why Chris was left out last game. What works for us in Bangalore, we will definitely go in with the strongest combination possible. Chris is a top contender to be playing the home games for us."

RCB will also have to make another choice between specialist wicketkeeper Vishnu Vinod, who had been signed as KL Rahul's replacement, and part-time wicketkeeper Kedar Jadhav. Jadhav's keeping wasn't tight in the season opener, but he has grown in stature as a batsman and can bowl offbreaks as well. Vinod is known for his big hitting at the domestic level: he was the top six-hitter in the Inter-State T20s with 14 in four innings. He replaced Jadhav as the wicketkeeper and looked comfortable against both pace and spin with the gloves, but managed only 16 runs in two innings.

"Combination is something we have discussed. Vishnu might play as well, you never know," Kohli said. "He is a specialist keeper, Kedar is a stand-in keeper but in T20 cricket you don't get much balls that go to the keeper of what we have seen in so many years. That's a call we have to take collectively as a management. Both possibilities are there. Kedar's batting is obviously a no-brainer. Vishnu strikes the ball well. You need to figure out who fits in the lower-order spot. Whether we want to have a guy who can bowl a bit or go with Vishnu who can keep wicket or add another bowler on the side."