IPL 2022: Virat Kohli reminisces how RCB changed his life after picking him up in 2008

On ‘The RCB Podcast’, Kohli elaborated his experiences during the first draft of IPL 2008, “I was in Malaysia for the World Cup, and I remember the day when the drafts were happening. The Under-19 dynamic was a little different because we rightly had a huge pay gap. That was the only time there was a cap on how much can a player be picked for if you have not played for India.

“Even that moment, for players like us, was so amazing because when they revealed the amount we got picked for, we are surprised and couldn’t believe it. Delhi team, who was initially interested in me later went for Pradeep Sangwan as their dynamic of the squad demanded a left-arm seamer and our best during the Under-19 campaign.

So, since Delhi decided to strengthen their bowling department, RCB picked me and it was such an impactful moment in my life which I didn’t realise then, but when I look back, things would have been very different to what they are now. I would not have it any other way than this.”

While talking about his team’s loss against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2016 final, Kohli said in that game, he felt like it was written.

“How could the finals be in Bangalore, and we played that kind of season, and we play that kind of a game where we are 100 for no loss in nine overs. Even KL, to this day, if there’s a highlight package running, he takes a screenshot and says it still hurts. It does. You had these dejected faces sitting in that amazing victory setup that we had done for the post-victory celebration. There was no music and we had such a big setup. I wouldn’t say it was our day. That is one game where I feel like it hurts,” he added in the podcast.

The ‘The RCB Podcast’ hosted by popular actor and comedian Danish Sait, includes players like Kohli, AB de Villiers, Glenn Maxwell, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal, Devdutt Padikkal, Harshal Patel, Kyle Jamieson, Mike Hesson and Sanjay Bangar, who elaborate on the central theme of the podcast for season 1 – How the IPL Changed My Life.

The RCB Podcast, produced in collaboration with ATS studio – who are the makers of the popular podcast Mission Isro – was released on February 5. It will witness AB de Villiers get candid and spill the beans on untold stories about his fabled career with the Royal Challengers. All audio episodes of the podcast will be available on popular audio streaming platforms: Spotify, Gaana and Apple Podcast.