“I was so surprised when I saw Virat Kohli in IPL 2008” – Kamran Akmal

Virar Kohli the U-19 cricketers got an IPL contract after winning the U-19 World Cup. Kohli joined franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the first-ever season of the best T20 league in the world. Virat joined RCB for just 20 lakhs however now he is the highest-paid player in a single edition of IPL.

The U-19 World Cup-winning captain didn’t have a great run inaugural season of IPL. Current Indian captain Kohli scored 165 runs in 13 matches in the 2008 season. However, Virat Kohli is now the highest run-scorer in the IPL. Also, his career graph kept moving in an upwards direction since 2011.

From 2008 to 2021, Virat Kohli has come a long way.❣️

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Kohli didn’t perform brilliantly well in his first few seasons of IPL, Also not many people thought he will become soo big in the future. Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal, who was part of IPL 2008, recently stated that he was surprised to see Kohli in IPL 2008.

“I had played the first edition of the IPL. At that time, I was so surprised when I saw Virat Kohli. I used to wonder what cricket he would play at such a young age,” he said. “But he has changed himself totally now, and he has become a role model for youngsters,” Akmal said.

Kamran Akmal was one of few Pakistani players who participated in IPL 2008. Wicketkeeper Akmal was a part of the champions of the inaugural season Rajasthan Royals which was led by Shane Warne. Since then, Akmal hasn’t played IPL.

The Royal Challengers Bangalore management backed Virat Kohli even after his below-par performance. As Kohli was not at his best in the first three IPL seasons. Meanwhile, Virat Kohli is now the face of RCB and he is the only player in IPL history to play for the same franchise.

RCB backing helped Kohli a lot to become a successful batsman in the IPL. Many believe that the Indian captain is most likely to stick with this franchise till the end of his career.