Former Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain and maverick batter, Virat Kohli penned an emotional post on May 23 (Tuesday) after the franchise's Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 campaign came to an end on May 21 (Sunday). Kohli and his team failed to qualify for the playoffs and bowed out of the tournament, much to the dismay of millions of RCB supporters. RCB's poster boy thanked the loyal supporters and extended gratitude to the support staff while vowing to come back stronger next season.
"A season which had it's moments but unfortunately we fell short of the goal. Disappointed but we must hold our heads high. To our loyal supporters, grateful for backing us every step of the way," Kohli said in a Tweet.
"A big thank you to the coaches, management and my teammates. We aim to be back stronger," he added.
Despite Kohli's record-seventh century, RCB lost their must-win match against defending champions Gujarat Titans (GT) as Shubman Gill came between Faf Du Plessis' brigade and a playoff berth. Gill's towering ton dampened Kohli's century and snatched the game away from RCB. RCB's defeat also meant Mumbai Indians got a ticket to playoffs besides Chennai Super Kings, Lucknow Super Giants and GT.
Kohli cracked back-to-back centuries, amassed 639 runs, clobbered six fifties and did everything in his capacity to fire RCB into playoffs but all of his efforts went in vain.
Since IPL's inception in 2008, Kohli has been an integral part of RCB and holds the record of playing most matches for a single team having played 237 matches for the Bangalore-based franchise. The 34-year-old is also the only batter in IPL history to amass 7000 runs.
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