Will never leave RCB till I play IPL, states Virat Kohli

Having been picked by the club as a 20-year-old back in 2008, Virat Kohli’s love affair with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) has been one to remember and cherish, with the Indian skipper not switching loyalties for twelve long years. In his time with the club, Kohli has grown to become the most popular player in the country, cemented himself as the highest run-getter in the competition’s history and has led his side to multiple IPL finals, thus becoming an absolute cult hero. 

Speaking on Instagram Live with teammate AB de Villiers, Kohli revealed that he has a special connection with the RCB franchise and stated that he would love to end his career with the club. The Indian skipper also revealed that winning the IPL alongside de Villiers, who has been his RCB teammate for almost a decade now, would be his ultimate dream.

"It has been such an amazing journey. It is always going to be our dream, winning the IPL together. There is no scenario where I could think of leaving the team ever,” Kohli told de Villiers on Instagram Live.

"You can feel emotional about the season not going well but till the time I am playing IPL, I am never leaving this team. The fans, their loyalty has been amazing.”

The coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc around the world and its dire effect on the cricket world meant that the BCCI had no choice but to suspend the IPL indefinitely. 

Speaking about the future of the thirteenth edition of the tournament, Kohli admitted that he had no information whatsoever regarding the tournament, but stated that he was optimistic of the event potentially getting rescheduled and happening later in the year.

"We have no clarity at this moment but I am optimistic that at some stage we will have something," said the RCB skipper, who is also the highest run-getter in IPL history.

Meanwhile, de Villiers, too, expressed his desire to keep playing for RCB till he retires, but joked that he would need to keep scoring runs to stay in the team, given he is not the captain of the side.

"Same for me. I never want to leave RCB but to do that I got to keep scoring runs. I am not the captain you see," said the former Proteas skipper.