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Virat Kohli for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Source: X)
Loyalty is not supposed to high on priority for professional sportspersons. They focus on rewards and prestige. Allegiance is determined accordingly. As it is, a career in playing sport is shorter than other walks of life. There can be forced breaks and no income due to injuries as well. Practicalities dictate that a player goes for the best available bargain instead of thinking who is offering it.
From that point of view, Virat Kohli spending 17 years with Royal Challengers Bengaluru is a rare exception. His current deal with the franchise is worth Rs 15 crore a year. Some of the other employers would have been prepared to at least match that amount. He must have been sounded out also. But Kohli has stayed with the biggest underachievers of the Indian Premier League.
Of the 10 players still surviving from the inaugural edition in 2008, MS Dhoni is the only other one who could have represented a single team all through, but for the suspension on Chennai Super Kings in 2016 and 2017. However, the circumstances faced by Dhoni in CSK have been totally different from Kohli’s experience in the red and black of RCB.
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Virat Kohli’s aggression (PC: BCCI/X)
Despite being one of the best batters around, Kohli has been part of a team which flattered to deceive at its best. For all their headline buys and constellation of stars, losing the 2009, 2011 and 2016 finals remain RCB’s biggest achievement. They finished last twice after 2016 and although there were three Playoffs in the last four years, it would mean little if they don’t get there this time.
With five titles, five runners-up finishes and just two seasons outside the top four, CSK has been a totally different abode for Dhoni. It is one of the best run IPL franchises, where he has been a part of the building process from the beginning. In terms of stability and continuity, few teams match them. RCB, on the other hand, make frequent changes in personnel in their quest for the missing crown.
Kohli had inarguably the best IPL season for any batter in 2016, when he made four centuries. The tally of 973 runs remains the only one above 900 in an IPL season. Chris Gayle went berserk and won the Orange Cup twice. AB de Villiers played some of the most scintillating T20 knocks representing RCB. None of these superlative individual contributions fulfilled the collective goal.
Virat Kohli (Source: IPL)
Kohli could not have been blamed for getting fed up. Champion players hate losing and he had to be part of some humiliating campaigns over the years. RCB hold the record for the lowest IPL total of 49. They are the only team to appear thrice in the Top-10 of low totals in the tournament’s history. Kohli had reason to look for greener pastures. Professionals driven by the desire to excel do that.
Of course, he had the performance and charisma to be in demand. An underperforming team would never let a Kohli go as long as the purse permits. But the player could have looked elsewhere. If not the two months of fruitless toil every year, he could have got bored by the monotony of such a long association. For some reason, that has not happened.
In spite of the heartbreak year after year, RCB’s fans have stayed loyal and backed their team. They come with great expectations and go back in greater dismay. But they never stop coming. Their talisman’s undying spirit may not lift the team, it holds the fan force together. For his loyalty or call it what you want, this remains the biggest reward for Kohli and his allegiance for RCB.
Also Read: Dhoni vs Kohli, IPL fans surely need this adrenaline high
The post Kohli peerless and motionless after 17 seasons of despair with RCB appeared first on Sports News Portal | Latest Sports Articles | Revsports.
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[[{“value”:”Loyalty is not supposed to high on priority for professional sportspersons. They focus on rewards and prestige. Allegiance is determined accordingly. As it is, a career in playing sport is…
The post Kohli peerless and motionless after 17 seasons of despair with RCB appeared first on Sports News Portal | Latest Sports Articles | Revsports.”}]]
