Former Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Virat Kohli, on Thursday, disclosed aspects he loves about the Indian Premier League (IPL). He shared his thoughts on a variety of topics, such as the most underrated IPL batter, and his pick for the ‘Greatest of All Time’ (GOAT) of IPL.
During a Q&A session featured in a video shared by JioCinema, Kohli provided his responses to various questions. On being asked about his IPL GOATs, the Delhi-born went with former RCB teammate AB de Villiers and Mumbai Indians (MI) legendary bowler Lasith Malinga.
“AB de Villiers and Lasith Malinga are the GOATs of IPL,” said Kohli.
Notably, De Villiers and Malinga are two prominent figures in the IPL and have been proven match-winners for their respective sides. De Villiers has played 157 matches for RCB since joining the side in 2011 and scored over 4000 runs at a strike rate of over 150.
Malinga, on the other hand, was widely regarded as one of the greatest T20 bowlers of all time and played a crucial role in MI’s title-winning seasons. The ace Sri Lanka pacer finished his IPL career as the third-highest wicket-taker with 170 scalps in 122 matches. He was part of Mumbai’s victorious campaigns in 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019.
Further in the chat, Kohli also picked one veteran cricketer he considers the most underrated batter in the lucrative tournament. The RCB icon went with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batter Ambati Rayudu, terming the latter as the most undervalued batter. Rayudu played for MI and CSK and has scored 4264 runs at a strike rate of 127.43, including 22 half-centuries and a hundred.
Meanwhile, Kohli is aiming a personal milestone of reaching the 7000-run benchmark. He is currently the leading run-scorer in IPL, having scored 6844 runs from 228 matches, with the help of five hundreds and 47 half-centuries. He is only 156 runs behind accomplishing a special landmark.
