ViratKohli, in a podcast by RCB, talks about pressure years and more

The star cricketer reflected on the weight of expectations that have surrounded RCB in the IPL over the years.

King Kohlirecently opened up about a lot of things in a podcast with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). He spoke about finally winning his first IPL title last year after a long, challenging wait. The stalwart has been part of the same franchise for 19 seasons and has come close on three occasions, reaching the final, but last year the team broke the jinx and registered a memorable win.

ViratKohli put out his emotions in a recent podcast.

The cricketing legend on RCB’s podcast, recalling RCB’s win last year, said, “I still say it’s very difficult to explain to people in words how I felt in the last four balls of the last over.” ViratKohli reflected on the weight of expectations that have surrounded RCB over the years. He also acknowledged how the franchise has often been labelled as one of the biggest sides yet to lift the IPL trophy. He spoke about the pressure that builds season after season and how it is far different to experience it from the inside rather than observe it from the outside. He said, “When you see from the outside what has happened to the franchise, how RCB has been looked at for so many years… as a big team, big franchise that’s never won – the almost champions, the ones that have come close but never really won the trophy. And for that pressure to build over so many years, like season after season… There’s one thing to observe it, and there’s one thing to live it. And I have lived through all of those seasons.”

Kohli talks about the iconic overseas star players of RCB over the years.

He looked back at the iconic overseas stars who became closely associated with the franchise over the years, highlighting how AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle left a lasting mark. Kohli said, “AB (de Villiers) became an icon in India after he started playing for us. How the fans embraced him, how they loved him. What he did for the team was beyond words, the impact he had… He (Chris Gayle) was sitting at home, gets called mid-season has the season of his life. His life completely changed within a week of coming to Bangalore. He has a very soft spot for RCB in his heart.” He even opened up on his long journey with RCB, saying the franchise and its fans have always meant a natural emotional bond. Kohli added, “Our franchise, our city, our team, our fans have been about impacting people in a very natural way. And I felt that impact probably more than anyone over the course of 18 years. All those emotions, all those feelings came out in a form of just being on my knees and just holding my hands and saying, thank you. That I could experience this before I stopped playing.”

ViratKohli, lastly concluded, “Although I wouldn’t have carried on regretting it. But there would have been a part of me that would have wondered, you know, what it would have felt like to experience that moment. I can for sure, with absolute honesty and clarity, say that it wouldn’t have been 5% of the feeling I had, had we won it in the earlier years. And the accumulation of all that stress and all that pressure. And for it to happen after 18 years, there couldn’t have been a better experience for me in my cricketing journey.”