Royal Challengers Bengaluru maestro Virat Kohli has been an integral part of the franchise ever since the inception of the Indian Premier League in 2008. Kohli, who had won the U19 World Cup in 2008 as captain, was roped in by the Bengaluru-based franchise for Rs 12 lakh.
The then prodigy rose through the ranks in the RCB circuit and also in the Indian setup as he later took commands of both the teams in his hand. Kohli became the RCB skipper in 2013 and led them till 2021. He was in charge of the team in their four playoff appearances, including a final in 2016.
Meanwhile, Kohli has revealed that he contemplated thoughts of leaving the franchise. "I was captaining India and RCB simultaneously. There was no downtime," Kohli said on RCB Podcast. "I never felt like the spotlight moved away. Every match, every inning — there was an expectation. It reached a point where I didn’t know what to do. I was constantly exposed."
"I did think about it, not out of temptation, but reflection,” Kohli admitted. “I asked myself — what is more valuable? A new challenge or the bond I’ve built here?"
Meanwhile, the India legend also revealed the reason why he left India and RCB captaincy. "I've said this before — I had the opportunity to explore and look elsewhere, especially during the peak years of my career. From 2016 to 2019, there were constant suggestions for me to switch. At one point, it became really tough because too much was happening. I was captaining India for 7-8 years and RCB for 9 years. There were expectations from me with the bat in every game I played," Kohli said on the RCB podcast.
Kohli admitted that the stress and the expectations began to fade his love for the game. "I never felt like the attention was off me. I was always in a space where I didn’t know what to do. I was exposed to it 24x7, and it got really tough. I decided that if I wanted to stay in this space, I needed to be happy. I wanted to be in a place where I could just play cricket without being judged," he added.
