Bhubaneswar: Virat Kohli is desperate to win the IPL title at least once with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). They had made it to the finals twice, but on both occasions had finished second best. Now in 2022, Virat Kohli wants to put all that baggage behind and make a fresh start. RCB’s start hasn’t been good though under new captain Faf du Plessis as they have gone down in their first game to Punjab Kings.
Kohli however, doesn’t want to win the IPL crown for himself only. If RCB win the trophy, he would dedicate the victory to close friend AB de Villiers. The South African who became an integral part of RCB is not being seen this time around as has retired from all formats of the game, be it franchise or country.
See video: https://twitter.com/i/status/1508647636114427904
Kohli has shared in a video that wife Anushka Sharma was quite sure that ABD will quit cricket soon. “I had shown Anushka a WhatsApp message from De Villiers. In it De Villiers had written ‘Cricket is not alive anymore within me’. Anushka had immediately told me that De Villiers will quit the game. I was desperately hoping that he continues to play. But that hasn’t happened,” Kohli said.
“I felt very said on reading the message. I can’t imagine of an RCB without De Villiers. So for him, I want to win the trophy at least once. I know wherever he is, he will be very happy if we become champions,” Kohli added.
Kohli’s friendship with De Villiers is well known. During the IPL, they would always stay in rooms close to one another and spend a lot of time together. Kohli has also disclosed why he avoided going out for coffee with De Villiers. “I always thought De Villiers would give me the news of quitting RCB over coffee. So I avoided going out for coffee with him,” Kohli has said.
Well coffee or no coffee, RCB are without the talismanic De Villiers in this edition of the IPL. Harsh it may sound, but that is the stark reality.