Till the time I play IPL, I'll never leave RCB: Virat Kohli tells AB de Villiers

Virat Kohli has a unique record in the Indian Premier League. He is the only player who has played all the 12 seasons for the same franchise. In fact, the 2020 edition was going to be his 13th with the franchise. Having joined Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2008 before the inaugural season, Kohli has seen several ups and downs through the years.

During his Instagram live session with RCB teammate AB de Villiers, Kohli said that he wants to play for the franchise until he is playing in the IPL. He said that journey has been amazing. Kohli went on to say that there is no scenario in which he will leave the franchise.

“It’s been 12 years and it’s such an amazing journey, so surreal. You have been here 9 years yourself. For a lot of people, it’s all about obviously we want to achieve the ultimate goal for RCB. We have come close thrice but haven’t made it. That’s always gonna be our dream together and I was just thinking there is no way in any scenario that I can ever think of leaving this team,” said Kohli.

“Regardless of how we play, I’ll never leave this team,” says Virat Kohli

Kohli further said that he is loyal to the franchise because of the love and care which the franchise has shown to him. He also said that regardless of how good or bad the team performs, he is never going to leave the franchise.

“Because of the love and care, the franchise has shown. You can feel emotional about the season going well or not but to have that loyalty with Bangalore, with RCB its quite surreal. Till the time I play IPL, regardless of how we play, I’ll never leave this team,” Kohli told De Villiers.

Kohli was signed by the RCB franchise in 2008 for $30,000. It was right after the Delhi player had led the India U19 side to a World Cup win. Back then, Kohli had joined the team which had the likes of Rahul Dravid, Zaheer Khan, Jacques Kallis, Mark Boucher, Anil Kumble and Dale Steyn.

The RCB franchise has been in three finals, 2009, 2011 and 2016. However, the dream of winning the tournament has not been achieved and Kohli hopes to get that done during his time with the franchise. Kohli has been captain of the franchise since 2013.

In 177 IPL matches, Kohli has scored 5412 runs at an average of 37.84. His strike rate has been 131.61. He has scored five centuries and 36 half-centuries.