Batting maestro Virat Kohli is arguably the best white-ball cricketer of the generation. He has come a long way ever since he made his debut in 2008. Today, he is hailed as a modern legend of this game and an inspiration by millions of people. He is often referred to as the ‘king’ by his fans.
Virat, who played a stunning knock of 82* runs in Royal Challengers Bangalore‘s season opener against Mumbai Indians recently, opened up on the sweet gesture of fans, but he also admitted that he doesn’t prefer this nickname.
“Don’t Call Me King” – Virat Kohli
Yes, for the first time ever, Virat Kohli has talked about his fans calling him “King”. Speaking in a candid conversation with Danish Sait aka Mr. Nags of IPL, Kohli said he knows where it comes from but does not like it. He said:
“It’s sweet. I know why they are saying it, but I don’t prefer it. I like to be called by my own name, Virat,”
“People tell me King out of love, but I personally don’t prefer it. Like ‘Ee Sala Cup Namdhe’, don’t say ‘King’,” Kohli added.
Virat Gave A Perfect Reply To RCB’s Critics
Meanwhile, speaking after RCB’s first match, where they defeated Mumbai Indians by eight wickets at their home ground M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, Virat was asked about RCB’s desire to win their first-ever title and how they deal with the pressure of never winning the silver-ware.
For the unversed, the Bangalore-based side has failed to get its hands time-and-again on the prestigious trophy. The team has made it to the playoffs eight times, but they have failed to reach the finals after 2016. RCB has lost in the finals thrice in 2009, 2011, and 2016.
The former RCB captain came up with a perfect reply for the critics as he defended his side by highlighting how RCB is one of the most consistent sides in the competitions and one that has reached the playoffs the third most number of times. He said:
“I wanted to mention this for a while – after MI who have 5 titles and CSK who have 4, if I’m not wrong, we are the third team to have qualified the most times to the playoffs – 8 times. Take one game at a time and try to be a balanced side which we are and we would look to execute our plans as we did tonight,”
RCB will now meet Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for a match on Thursday at Eden Gardens of Kolkata.
