‘Virat Kohli will forever be RCB’s icon and hero’

Dubai: Virat Kohli has become synonymous with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). His 18-year association with the franchise reflects the deep bond he shares with the team. The massive fan following and the sea of red that gathers to watch him bat have created countless special moments for the cricketing superstar.

“Virat Kohli, obviously, I think he’ll forever be the icon and the hero of this team. I don’t think that’s going to go away, and he deserves that. His track record is incredible,” RCB director of cricket Mo Bobat said on the RCB Podcast.

Bobat marvelled at Kohli’s “ridiculous” consistency across 18 seasons, adding that assembling a championship-winning side around him was the least the management could do for a player who devoted his youth and prime to the franchise. RCB head into the upcoming Indian Premier League season as defending champions, having finally secured their maiden title last year after an 18-year wait.

“I remember at one point last season seeing his stats when he got to however many runs it was — close to 9,000 runs — 18 years wearing just one shirt. That’s 500 runs a season.

“It’s actually ridiculous. For seven years or something like that, some players would be happy with a 500-run season. He averages 500 runs a season for 18 years. It’s actually ridiculous. So, you can’t ignore that.”

RCB lifted the trophy under the captaincy of Rajat Patidar, who assumed leadership from Faf du Plessis ahead of IPL 2025.

Explaining the leadership transition, Bobat said: “We spent a lot of time thinking about that captaincy decision. I don’t mind saying in my career there aren’t that many decisions that I’ve thought about as long and as deeply as that one. And (the) thinking started in the season before.

“We were very blessed to have someone like Faf (du Plessis) as our captain. Everybody knows what a champion person Faf is. He was still a player doing the business at that stage as well. We could have easily just rolled him over and continued with Faf, having built a strong connection and relationship and trust with him.

“But sport is pretty ruthless. You’ve got to look at the reality of his age and stage. And again, I mentioned earlier, the big auction gave us a chance to do a bit of a reset.

“We felt like (having) an Indian captain was really important. It’s an Indian competition, so having an Indian captain I think is really important.”

Looking ahead to the new campaign, Bobat stressed that the team is targeting consecutive titles.

“We’re not defending champions. We’re not defending anything. We might be current champions, but I don’t want us to have a mindset of us defending anything.

“We’re attacking. We’re chasing something else. We’re chasing back to back wins.”

Discussing long-term leadership plans, Bobat revealed that he and head coach Andy Flower had spoken to Kohli about the captaincy transition.

“Andy and I met him (Kohli) in London not long after the 2024 season and talked about that. He’s always ready to step forward and lead. He doesn’t need a second invitation.

“But we spoke at that stage about how this decision is not just about us three as people. It’s about RCB more broadly as a franchise. Its leadership maybe even beyond us. We might not be here and Rajat might be continuing as captain. So it’s a moment in time where we have to take that responsibility quite seriously.”

“The easy thing would have been to say, ‘Virat, do you mind filling in and doing captaincy?’ But then you’re just kicking a decision down the road. At some point we can’t be dependent on Virat all the time.

“Virat’s a bright guy. He got it really quickly. He said, ‘Let’s think about some of these other individuals. But if you need someone, then obviously I can do it’.”