Former India captain Virat Kohli has been on a tournament-winning streak for a while. After the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 triumph, India won the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 as well. Then, the most awaited trophy, the Indian Premier League (IPL) title was claimed by Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on June 3 at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. After the triumph, Kohli was overwhelmed the emotions. He thanked the loyal fanbase, teammates, former teammates, coaching staff, family, everyone. After the victory lap, Kohli walked into the dressing room with former teammate AB de Villiers and hailed Rajat Patidar who came in as an injury replacement in IPL 2022 after an unimpressive 2021 edition and went on to become franchise's first title-winning captain.
"Heartbreak corner… no more," Kohli said as he walked into the dressing room.
"What a turn around. From injury replacement to IPL-winning captain. Bloody Hell," he said in the video posted by RCB.
Then, he took out his bat from the kitbag and handed lobbed it to Patidar. The RCB captain was thankful to legendary Kohli as he kissed the bat.
“I’m going to feel the real side of it when we get to Bengaluru tomorrow and celebrate this with the city,” Kohli said talking about the victory parade.
Kohli lauded his teammates including Mayank Agarwal who went unsold in the mega auction and then came in as injury replacement for Devdutt Padikkal. Agarwal lauded Kohli as a true 'Bengaluru boy'.
Patidar dedicates IPL trophy to Kohli
Patidar who won the IPL trophy in his first season said that Kohli deserves the trophy more than anyone else. He also thanked the RCB fanbase for their support over the years.
"It is really special for me, for Virat Kohli, and all the fans. Those who have supported for years, they all deserve it. It's a great opportunity for me and a great learning for me to captain Kohli, he deserves it more than anyone else," Patidar said in the post-match presentation on June 3.