Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) star batter and former India captain Virat Kohli has revealed that he was approached by several franchises to enter the Indian Premier League (IPL) auctions. Kohli, who is the only cricketer in the IPL history to play all the 14 seasons with one team, remains loyal to RCB and has shed light on his journey with the team. Despite having immense success at the international level, the Delhi-born star has never laid his hands on the coveted IPL trophy and is determined to go one better in the upcoming season. Kohli was one of the three players RCB decided to retain for the upcoming season of the IPL.
“I’ve been approached a few times as well – to come into the auction somehow – I have thought about it. There have been many great players who have won trophies and things like that but no one addresses you like that. If you are a good person, people like you and if you are a bad guy, they stay away from you,” Kohli said in the RCB podcast.
“Eventually, that’s what life is all about. The loyalty with RCB, like how I follow my life, is far greater than five people saying you’ve finally won the IPL with XYZ. What this franchise has given to me in the first three years, and believed in me, that is the most special thing,” he added.
Kohli, 33, has been a runner-up on three occasions in the premier competition having ended on the losing side in the final of 2009, 2011 and most recently in 2016. Interestingly, on all three occasions, RCB were beaten by South Indian sides.
On the flip side, the former India captain will try to bring back his form, having gone more than two years without a hundred in all forms of the game. Kohli's IPL record speaks volumes; he is the overall highest run-getter in the history of IPL with 6,283 runs in 207 matches for RCB. His tally of 973 runs in 16 matches in a single season of the IPL still remains a record.
The IPL auctions will take place on February 12 and 13 in Bengaluru with 10 franchises bidding for 590 players.
