New Zealand Names Squad for India Test Series: Williamson Injured,
Kohli says that he had the opportunity of joining other IPL teams in the past
Former Royal Challengers Bangalore and Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli has been the player to look out for in almost every game that takes place in our country. The 33-year-old cricketer has shown some mindboggling performances over the years be it for his national team or his IPL team. He is the only player to play in the IPL who has remained in the same IPL franchise since the start of the IPL in 2008. He captained the RCB side for eight years after which he decided to hand it over to someone else last year.
However, while talking to the RCB podcast, Kohli said “I’ve been approached a few times as well — to come into the auction somehow — I have thought about it. At the end of the day, a person lives a certain number of years, and then you die and life moves on. There have been many great players who have won trophies and things like that but no one addresses you like that.
“If you are a good person, people like you and if you are a bad guy, they stay away from you. Eventually, that’s what life is all about.”
Virat has been a forever present pillar in the RCB squad and has given them some memorable moments in the past as well.
He said “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. There were many teams who had the opportunity. They didn’t back me and they didn’t believe in me.”
Kohli and RCB came close to winning the IPL title in 2015 when they reached the final in Bangalore itself. However, losing the final still rattles Kohli time after time as it was an opportunity for the former skipper. He said “That game, I felt like it was written. How could the finals be in Bangalore, and we played that kind of season, and we play that kind of a game where we are 100 for no loss in nine overs.
“Even KL (Rahul), to this day, if there’s a highlight package running, he takes a screenshot and says it still hurts. It does. You had these dejected faces sitting in that amazing victory setup that we had done for the post-victory celebration. That is one game where I feel like it hurts. It disappoints me. We had opportunities where we came close. At the end of the day, I am not going to call it luck.”
“The opposition is there to play as well and if they are better on the day, you have to accept it that we haven’t been as courageous or as clear in our plans as we should have been in those crunch moments.”
“You could say that the odds were stacked against us – the only expectation was for us to win – but you have to deal with those. You can’t run away from that.”
