Virat Kohli is the only player in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL) to play for only one franchise, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). Ever since he was roped in by the Bangalore franchise as a U19 player, Kohli has remained with them.
However, Kohli recently revealed that he was approached by several franchises on many occasions to put his name in the auction. Speaking on the ‘RCB Inside’ show, RCB’s highest run-scorer in IPL’s history said:
“To be very honest I thought about it. Yes, I won’t shy away from it and I have been approached many times as well to come into the auction somehow, put my name there and stuff. It’s like if you are a good person, people like you, if you’re a bad guy, they just stay away from you and eventually that’s what life is all about.”
Incidentally, Delhi Capitals had a good opportunity to sign Virat Kohli, however, they preferred Pradeep Sangwan from the U19 World Cup squad given that they had a lot of batters in their rank. Royal Challengers Bangalore cashed in on the opportunity to sign Kohli and the rest is history.
“What this franchise has given me in terms of opportunities is the most special thing” – Virat Kohli
Despite coming close on a couple of occasions, the elusive IPL trophy has been a distant dream for the 33-year-old talismanic run-scorer. But Virat Kohli stressed that winning the title with other franchises will not be as special as doing it with Bangalore.
“For me the understanding that the loyalty with RCB like how I follow my life is far greater for me than the fact that five people in the room will say oh finally you win the IPL with whoever xyz. You feel good for five minutes but then sixth minute you could be miserable with some other issues in the life. So it is not the end of the world for me,” Kohli added.
“What this franchise has given me in terms of opportunities in the first three years and believed in me that is the most special thing because as I said there are many teams who had the opportunity, but they didn’t back me, they didn’t believe in me,” he concluded.
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