Virat Kohli is gearing up for the IPL where he will turn up once again for Royal Challengers Bengaluru—a squad whose captaincy he just relinquished. One of the earlier players at the franchise, Kohli was retained by the RCB back in 2011 and told him about their future plans.
“I remember we were playing the Champions League in South Africa and Ray Jennings and Siddharth Mallya approached me, said that they were looking to retain only me, and that they were looking to build a whole new squad around me.”
“I said that’s great, and that’s the opportunity I am looking for. I told them very clearly there’s only one condition that I will bat at No.3 and nowhere else. They said fair enough. I knew I can do something special for the team. I had no problem accepting the responsibility,” said Kohli.
It’s more than a decade that Virat Kohli donned that RCB jersey and never looked back. He landed at the franchise after winning the Under-19 World Cup in Malaysia and was drafted into RCB squad after he was purchased in the first-ever IPL auction. But it wasn’t easy for King Kohli to cement his place in the playing eleven. In his initial years, at least for the first three, he had to bat at number five. Speaking on RCB Podcast, he revealed how he told the coach and team owner that he wants to bat at three.
Meanwhile, ahead of this high-pressure tournament, Kohli took some time off as can be seen from this Instagram picture where he can be seen lying down on the grass. “The Earth has music for those who listen.”
Whatever I am Today Wouldn’t Have Been Possible Without Virat Kohli: Mohammed Siraj
Virat Kohli’s tenure as India and RCB captain has ended but his legacy stays intact. Under his leadership, India turned into a force to reckon with in the fast-bowling department. The former skipper brought a fitness revolution to the team which also helped the Indian pacers to unleash their best performances. In red-ball cricket, India produced several memorable performances courtesy of their fast bowlers. Kohli backed his pace unit in every situation as Jasprit Bumrah turned into an unstoppable force, while Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma regained their best of forms in red-ball. While in the final stage of his captaincy, Kohli backed his RCB teammate Mohammed Siraj in the Indian team and turn him into a world-class bowler by backing him during his tough times.
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