Indian star-batter Virat Kohli joined the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on today’s date (March 11) back in 2008. He was picked a young Virat Kohli from an Under-19 draft for the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
It is worth mentioning here that earlier that year; Kohli led India to glory in the U19 World Cup that took place in Kuala Lumpur. Notably, Virat was India’s second-highest run-scorer in the tournament after he racked up 235 runs at an average of 47 with a top score of 100 against the West Indies.
As per official reports, RCB picked Virat Kohli for $30,000 (approximately Rs 24,81,615). However, he did not have a great season that year, as he scored only 165 runs from 13 matches. Although he struggled initially, Virat Kohli raised his game to the extent that he is currently the leading run-scorer in the history of the IPL.
Notably, in 237 matches, the star cricketer has scored 7263 runs at an average of 37.24 with 7 hundreds and 50 half-centuries to his name.
Earlier, in 2022, Virat Kohli recalled when he was selected for RCB in the draft after his performance in the U19 World Cup that year.
While speaking about the experience to Danish Sait in a podcast for RCB back in 2022 Virat Kohli said, “We were all in Malaysia for the U-19 World Cup. I remember the day when the drafts were happening. The U-19 dynamic was a little different, because we very rightly so had a money cap, if I could say. That was the only time that I saw a restriction on how much you can be picked for if you haven’t played for India.”
In the work front, Virat Kohli missed the recent five-match series against England, which India won victoriously. Virat Kohli and his wife and actress Anushka Sharma welcomed their son “Akaay”on February 15. The star-cricketer is all set to play for RCB in the upcoming season of Indian Premiere League (IPL). IPL 2024 will begin from March 22 with the first match between Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Ms Kalinga