Everyone knows Virat Kohli's affinity towards the IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) as he is among the few lot who have represented only one franchise right from the inception of IPL.
Virat was signed by the RCB ahead of the inaugural edition of the tournament back in 2008 and was appointed the captain of the side in 2013.
The 33-year-old is currently the leading run-scorer in the IPL. Sharing the RCB dressing room with the likes of South Africa's AB de Villiers and West Indies' Chris Gayle, the troika had dominated the IPL ever since it came together in 2011. While Gayle left ahead of the 2019 season, the former Proteas great announced his retirement from the game after the 2021 edition of the tournament.
While speaking on a YouTube series titled ‘RCB Podcast’, Virat said that the arrival of AB de Villiers and Gayle was the moment “the game changed” for him.
“'For me, the game changed when AB was bought in 2011 and Chris was signed mid-season 2011. You know what the bowlers think when they are running in to bowl, that (out of) these three guys, if two bat together for a while, it's trouble for us,” Kohli said.
The high profile Kohli, who steered RCB to greater heights in IPL, was one of the three players retained by the side ahead of the 2022 edition (the other two being Australia's Glenn Maxwell and Mohammed Siraj). Ahead of the second phase of the 2021 IPL, Kohli had also announced his decision to step down from the RCB captaincy following the underwhelming performance of his side. However Kohli repeated his intention of continuing to represent RCB in the IPL.
“Yes, definitely. I don’t see myself playing anywhere else. Loyalty matters more to me than worldly pleasures. I would be in the RCB till the last day I play in the IPL,” Kohli had earlier said.
In a trailer to the episode with Kohli, the RCB also included Kohli's comments on the hard work he puts on. “Every day you have to put on the work. And being true to yourself is the work. No fame, money or success in life can get rid of that,” Kohli said.
In addition to Kohli being the only IPL captain who hasn’t led his team to a title victory despite leading for a decade, Royal Challengers continue to be devoid of lifting the title despite playing the tournament since its inception in 2008.
The 2022 edition of the Indian Premier League will precede the mega auction, which takes place between February 12-13 in Bengaluru.
