Virat Kohli is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in IPL history. Since the league’s inception, he has remained loyal to a single franchise, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), where he has built an extraordinary legacy. Virat Kohli is the highest run-scorer in the tournament’s history with over 8,000 runs and has won the Orange Cap twice.
However, Kohli’s IPL journey could have looked very different. Being a Delhi native, many expected the Delhi Daredevils to pick him in the 2008 draft. Surprisingly, the franchise passed on him, and RCB secured his services for his base price of ₹50 lakh. The decision proved to be a turning point in IPL history.
Virender Sehwag, who was Delhi’s captain during the first season, recently opened up about this during a Cricbuzz podcast. Explaining the rationale, he said:
“This did not happen on the auction table. I was there. We also had Gautam Gambhir, Shikhar Dhawan, Dilshan, and AB de Villiers. There were so many openers and top-order batters. We had a lot of batters, but we did not have bowlers. So our thinking was to get an extra bowler. He was a left-hander. We thought he would do good and he did too. Yo, Mahesh and Pradeep Sangwan were two young bowlers who did well for us in the first three seasons.”
While Delhi chose to strengthen their bowling lineup, RCB gained a future icon. Kohli’s aggressive mindset and consistent performances have played a pivotal role in shaping RCB’s identity.
Most recently, Kohli showed his class against his hometown team at Arun Jaitley Stadium, smashing his sixth half-century in 10 IPL innings versus Delhi Capitals. His innings powered RCB to yet another away win in IPL 2025, reinforcing why missing out on him in 2008 remains one of Delhi’s biggest regrets.
