Loyalty with RCB is more important than winning IPL, says Virat Kohli

In
the Indian Premier League (IPL), there are only a few cricketers who are truly
the faces of their franchises. While MS Dhoni is the man who comes first in our
minds when we talk about Chennai Super Kings, it is Rohit Sharma for Mumbai
Indians and Virat Kohli for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).

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Virat
Kohli has been associated with RCB since the inaugural season of IPL. Now ahead
of the mega auction, the cricketer revealed that he was “approached a few
times” by other franchises to put his name in the auction, but he never did
that as loyalty towards the franchise mattered the most to him.

Kohli,
who was fresh from leading India in the U-19 World Cup victory in Malaysia, was
roped in by RCB in the 2008 IPL auction. In 2013, he was named
captain of the side. He led RCB till the 2021 season with two runners-up
finishes. In September last year, Kohli resigned from RCB captaincy and decided
to play as a batter instead. He was, however, retained by the Bengaluru
franchise for the upcoming season, which is likely to be played in India.

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Speaking
to the RCB podcast, Kohli admitted that loyalty towards RCB mattered more to
him than winning the IPL title than playing for another franchise.

“I’ve
been approached a few times as well — to come into the auction somehow — I
have thought about it,” Kohli said.

Also Read: IPL announces mega auction to be held on February 12 and 13, check timings here

“The
loyalty with RCB, like how I follow my life, is far greater than five people
saying you’ve finally won the IPL with XYZ. You feel good for five minutes and
then the sixth minute you could be miserable with some other issue in life.

“What
this franchise has given to me in the first three years, and believed in me, is
the most special thing (sic). There were many teams who had the opportunity.
They didn’t back me and they didn’t believe in me.”

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Kohli
remains the only cricketer to play for a single franchise in IPL history. While
Dhoni had played for Rising Pune Supergiant when CSK was suspended, Rohit had
played for now-defunct Deccan Chargers in his initial days in IPL.

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In
207 matches, Kohli has scored 6283 runs at 37.39 and with a strike rate of 129.94.
While he remains the leading run-getter in the tournament history, Kohli’s
tally of five centuries is the most by an Indian cricketer and the second-most
by a batter in IPL history, after Chris Gayle’s six hundreds.