‘Impactful moment in my life’: Virat Kohli shares memories from the day he was first picked by RCB | Cricket News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: India batter Virat Kohli has said that being picked by Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) was an impactful moment in his life, which he didn’t realise back then.
Virat has been a part of RCB since 2008 and became a full-time captain in 2013, after replacing Daniel Vettori. He announced that he will not be the captain of the team after IPL 2021.
“I was in Malaysia for the (U-19) 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 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,” Kohli said on an RCB podcast.
“Delhi team, which was initially interested in me, later went for Pradeep Sangwan, as their dynamic of the squad demanded for 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,” he added.

Meanwhile, Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell said that IPL has changed his life in an amazing way.
“IPL has changed my life in an amazing way. Some of the heroes and the people I have admired throughout my career, I have got a chance to play for, against and playing under them, it has changed me as a cricketer and as a person,” said Maxwell.
“The people I have met and the things I have learned from the IPL has helped me grow as a person who I am today. I owe it to the IPL a lot because I have learnt to adapt to situations and it helped me get better as a player,” he added.
Before being picked by RCB, Maxwell had been a part of Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals), Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings. In the 2021 edition of the IPL, he became RCB’s highest run-scorer with 513 runs.
RCB has retained Virat, Maxwell and Mohammed Siraj ahead of the mega 2022 auction.