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Virat Kohli is without a doubt one of the best cricketers in the world right now. With millions of fans worshipping him, professional cricketers and colleagues consider him one of the best. His association with the Indian Premier League goes back to 2008 when he was fresh off his Under 19 World Cup win. Since, then Kohli has become the face of Royal Challengers Bengaluru, proving his loyalty over the years. But did you know IPL fans had once lashed out at the team for retaining Kohli and letting Rahul Dravid go?
We will have to turn the pages on this bit of IPL history back to 2010, two years after the IPL started. As the league was gaining momentum, so was Kohli. Still fresh and young to the world of IPL, Kohli was beginning his run machine phase.
In 2010, just before the mega auction in 2011, RCB shocked everyone by only retaining Virat Kohli on the team. The team boasted experienced players like Ross Taylor, Jacques Kallis, and Rahul Dravid, and therefore, Kohli batted far lower in the order.
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Virat Kohli was one of three players retained by Royal Challengers Bangalore for the 2017 Indian Premier League season. Kohli, one of the best batters in IPL history, captained the team for nine seasons before stepping down before the second half of the 2021 season.
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RCB faced much backlash for Ignoring Rahul Dravid, Kevin Pietersen, and Robin Uthappa and keeping only one player: Virat Kohli. The burgeoning talent was yet to make it big on the international stage. RCB and Kohli profited handsomely from their 2008 investment.
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Kohli became the highest-paid player in the IPL 2018 auction as RCB retained him for Rs 17 crore, Rs 2 crore more than the money paid to other top retentions.
Virat is more than just the face of Indian cricket and RCB; the star cricketer has played 243 matches in his IPL career and scored 7,582 runs, averaging 38.10. Despite his performances, RCB has yet to win its first title.
But Kohli has always said that he will be loyal to Royal Challengers Bengaluru until his last IPL match, and that proves why the RCB fans love him so much.
In IPL 2024, Royal Challengers Bengaluru dropped to the 10th position because they won only one match out of the six they played. Kohli, however, is the current orange cap holder and played well for the team.
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