"Such an impactful moment in my life, didn't realise at the time" - Virat Kohli on being picked by RCB
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) legend Virat Kohli has revealed his thoughts on being picked up by the team as an under-19 player. Kohli was slotted in the draft for the under-19 players ahead of the maiden edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
The legendary batter has now revealed that it was a very impactful moment in his life, although he may not have realised it at the time. Kohli has been with RCB since the inaugural season in 2008 and has never entered an IPL auction.
In a podcast with renowned entertainer Danish Sait, he spoke about what it meant to him to be picked up by RCB.
"RCB picked me. That, I think, in hindsight, I feel like was such an impactful moment in my life that I didn't realise at that time. But now when I look back, things would have been very different to what they are now. I do not want to have it any other way than this," the former India captain said.
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He recalled how he was almost picked up by Delhi Capitals, who were then known as the Delhi Daredevils. But Delhi opted for left-arm seamer Pradeep Sangwan instead.
"There was one conversation where I heard from people that the Delhi team was interested to go after me but the dynamic of their team was such that they went for Pradeep Sangwan, who was a left-arm seamer. An amazing bowler, at that time he was our best bowler in the U-19 team. So Delhi decided to go for him because they wanted the bowling strength," Kohli said.
Delhi had the first pick in the draft and opted for Sangwan and RCB swooped in for Kohli, and the rest, as they say, is history.
"That moment was so amazing for us" - Virat Kohli on Under-19 players being picked for IPL
Virat Kohli had just led India to victory in the 2008 U-19 World Cup ahead of the draft picks for the under-19 players in the IPL.
He was with the team in Malaysia when the draft happened and he recalled that they were amazed by the amounts they were picked for at such a young age.
"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 where I saw a restriction on how much you can be picked for if you haven't played for India," he said.
He went on to add:
"So that for us, I remember even that moment for us was so amazing. Because the amount that we got picked for when they announced it, we couldn't believe it because it was absolutely crazy."
Virat Kohli was picked for Rs 12 lakh in the first draft pick and he and RCB have never parted ways since.
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Ahead of the IPL 2022 auction, Virat Kohli -- who recently stepped down from the captaincy of the franchise -- was retained for Rs 15 crore.