Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) Virat Kohli is the only Indian Premier League (IPL) player who has represented only one franchise across all 18 seasons. Kohli, who was ignored by Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) as an uncapped player in inaugural mega auction, has continued to be a part of RCB despite not being able to win the coveted IPL trophy. During the IPL 2025, Kohli talked in detail about why he did not leave RCB. The thought crossed his mind but he outlined what the dynamic at the other franchise will be if he doesn't meet their criteria. Also, he chose to value the relationship and mutual respect he has had with the franchise over a long period of time.
"I did feel, I wouldn't say tempted, but I did think about it. I also asked myself the question, what is more valuable to me? I've won a lot of things in my career for India," Kohli said on the RCB podcast.
"So I thought, fine, what is of more value to me today? Do I want to go to a new setup and try to figure out life again? And I don't know how the system is going to be, how people are going to treat me, how patient people are going to be with me. They've brought me in for X, Y, Z reasons. If those reasons are not met, what is the dynamic going to turn out to be? So I felt like, you know what? For me, what's more valuable is the relationship and the mutual respect that has been created over so many years. And I'm just going to say it now, whether we win or we don't win, it's fine. This is my moment," the 36-year-old explained.
Kohli, the batters' dominance in IPL history
Kohli is the leading run-scorer in IPL history. While he has 8,509 runs, no other batter has even crossed the 7,000 runs-mark. He has scored more than 500 runs in a single season eight times. He holds the record for most runs in a season as well.
In the ongoing season, he leads the orange cap race with 505 runs from 11 innings, averaging 63.13. His strike rate is 143.16. While he is yet to reach three figures, the opener has seven fifties to his name.