RCB icons Virat Kohli, AB de Villers and Chris Gayle (Image: X)
Virat Kohli opened up about the deep emotional bond he shares with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, explaining how the franchise not only shaped his own cricketing journey but also helped global stars like AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle become iconic figures among Indian fans.In a podcast with RCB, Kohli reflected on the emotional impact RCB had on the players over the years and why finally winning the IPL title after 18 seasons felt uniquely special. Kohli said the franchise has always had a natural ability to connect with the players and elevate them beyond mere performances on the field. According to him, AB de Villiers became a beloved icon in India mainly because of the love and support he received while representing RCB.”I mean, it’s an impact, right? AB became this icon in India after he started playing for us, how the fans embraced him, how they loved him, what he did for the team was beyond words, the impact he had. Very organically, things fell into place with Chris as well. He was sitting at home, they called him in the middle of the season, he is having the season of his life. Within a week of his arrival in Bangalore, his life changed completely. So our franchise, our city, our team, our fans were all about influencing people in a very natural way,” Virat Kohli said. He admitted that he personally experienced the impact more than anyone else during his 18-year association with the franchise, which culminated in last season’s long-awaited IPL title triumph. Kohli described the emotional scenes after the victory, where he fell to his knees in tears, as a moment of gratitude rather than relief.”I felt that impact probably more than anyone else over the course of 18 years, until the last year we won the trophy. And I think all those emotions, all those feelings came out in the form of being on my knees and just holding my hands and saying thank you for letting me experience this before I stopped playing,” Kohli revealed.The batting superstar further explained that the 18-year wait made winning the title even more meaningful. He said the emotional weight of years of pressure, expectation and heartache made the ultimate triumph incomparable to anything he would have felt had RCB won the trophy earlier in their journey.”I can say with absolute honesty and clarity that it wouldn’t have been 5% of the feeling that I had that we wanted in previous years and the build-up of all that stress and all that pressure. And for it to happen after 18 years, I couldn’t have had a better experience in my cricketing journey,” Kohli concluded.
