'When I bid for Virat Kohli...' ex-RCB owner Vijay Mallya ahead of IPL 2024 Eliminator

Ex-RCB owner Vijay Mallya bought Virat Kohli for USD 30,000 in the IPL 2008 auction.

Former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) owner Vijay Mallya opened up about the time when he made the bid for star batter Virat Kohli at the 2008 Indian Premier League (IPL) auction.

At the IPL 2008 auction, the former RCB owner picked a young Kohli, who had just led India to glory in the U19 World Cup. Kohli was bought by RCB for a price of USD 30,000. However, Kohli didn’t have a great 2008 season as he managed to score only 165 runs from 13 matches at an average of 15 and a strike rate of 105.09 with a top score of 39.

Although Kohli struggled initially in the IPL, Bengaluru showed faith in the Delhi cricketer and retained him ahead of the 2011 auction. Kohli repaid the faith and is currently the leading run-scorer in the history of the IPL. The 35-year-old is the only player in the history of the league to have played for a single franchise since the inaugural IPL edition. 

The right-handed batter Kohli took the leadership responsibilities of RCB in the IPL 2013 season. The opener went on to smash the most runs in a single IPL edition when in 2016 Kohli amassed a whopping 973 runs, but still couldn’t take RCB to the title.

Vijay Mallya’s Post on Virat Kohli ahead of the Eliminator against Rajasthan Royals

RCB are all set to take on the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the Eliminator of IPL 2024 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on May 22.

Bengaluru started their IPL 2024 campaign on a horrific note. They were at the bottom of the points table after the first half of the season. However, the Faf du Plessis-led RCB made a stunning comeback in the second half to win six games in a row and stormed into the playoffs by knocking out defending champions CSK.

Ahead of the exciting RCB vs RR clash, the former RCB owner Vijay Mallya revealed his mindset when he made the bid to buy Kohli in the IPL 2008 auction. Mallya feels that buying RCB and Kohli was the best decision he could’ve made at that point. Mallya also is confident that RCB could lift the trophy this season.

“When I bid for the RCB franchise and I bid for Virat, my inner instinct told me that I could not have made better choices. My inner instinct tells me that RCB have the best chance to go for the IPL Trophy. Onward and Upward. Best of luck,” Mallya posted on X.

Here is the post:

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