"I will always be with the franchise that backs me....." Virat Kohli makes a shocking revelation

The 34-year-old has also never been shy of showing his immense liking and respect for the Bangalore-based franchise.

By Darpan Jain Updated: Apr 19, 2023, 18:31 IST

Virat Kohli has been a part of Royal Challengers Bangalore since the first season.?width=963&height=541&resizemode=4

Even when Kohli didn’t churn out consistent performances, RCB never put him under the scanner.

Virat Kohli has been an integral member of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) since the origin of the Indian Premier League (IPL). While featuring for RCB, Kohli has made several records in the league. The 34-year-old has also never been shy of showing his immense liking and respect for the Bangalore-based franchise.

After all, RCB has backed him ever since his U-19 days. Even when Kohli didn’t churn out consistent performances, RCB never put him under the scanner. Now, he has revealed a shocking incident that took place back in 2011.

Virat Kohli makes a massive revelation about himself

Virat Kohli and Royal Challengers Bangalore always go together. However, Virat Kohli has now revealed that he approached a few franchises in his first few years. He did so in a quest to bat up in the order.

For the first few seasons, Virat batted in the middle and lower middle order for RCB. But, according to Kohli, that franchise didn’t consider the decision. However, the same franchise approached Virat Kohli before the auction in 2011, asking him to enroll his name in the auction, to which Virat Kohli replied, “No chance. I will always be with the franchise that backs me.”

Virat opened up about his journey and partnership with Royal Challengers Bangalore.

“It's been amazing. Why I value this partnership and journey with RCB so much is because, in the first 3 years of the IPL, they backed me a lot. Even when the retentions happened, they said, 'We want to retain you’,” exclaimed Kohli in a chat with Robin Uthappa on Jio Cinema.

Kohli also told Uthappa that he asked the then-head coach of RCB, Ray Jennings, to promote him in the order, and Jennings accepted the request.

“My only feedback to Ray Jennings at the time was, 'I want to bat in top-order. I bat at 3 for India, and I want to bat at 3'. And they said, 'Okay, you will bat at 3'. They showed faith in me at the time when I needed it. I was growing in my international career as well,” added Kohli in the chat.

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While RCB haven’t won a trophy yet, Virat Kohli has made significant contributions to the team. Before bringing curtains on an illustrious career, Kohli would want to help RCB win an IPL trophy.