The recent Instagram Live session between Indian captain Virat Kohli and South African maestro AB de Villiers, would have overwhelmed the ardent Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) fans.
Despite serving the franchise for a long time, the hunger in the belly for winning their first IPL trophy was one of the most notable aspects in their conversation.
Virat went ahead and stated that he does not see himself playing for any other team than RCB. Further, King Kohli’s loyalty to the franchise is unparalleled as he is the only player in IPL history to represent one team in all seasons of the competition, thus far.
India’s 2008 U19 World Cup campaign gave several prominent stars, none bigger than Kohli. The franchise owners were active enough in the inaugural auctions to bag the services of Kohli, who was fresh from the tournament win.
Meanwhile, his career path intersected with the Proteas stalwart in 2011, when Delhi Daredevils released AB, and RCB were quick to pounce on the opportunity to clinch his services.
Together with Chris Gayle, and other Indian domestic talents, RCB fielded one of the most destructive lineups when it comes to batting.
However, an IPL title still eludes the Red and Blacks, as they reached three finals, but were unable to cross the final hurdle.
“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,” Virat told AB.
“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. 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 it’s quite surreal. Till the time I play IPL, regardless of how we play, I’ll never leave this team,” Kohli assured.
“You think about special moments, the crowd atmosphere. Those are the things you never wanna give away. I want to be in Bangalore for I dunno how many years to come,” concurred de Villiers.
