“What kind of cricket will he play?” – A former cricketer from Pakistan was surprised to see Virat Kohli in the IPL 2008
One of the U-19 cricketers who signed an IPL contract after winning the Junior World Cup, Virat Kohli has joined the Royal Challengers in Bangalore for the inaugural season of the T20 league. The highest paid player in one of the editions of the league now, Kohli then joined RCB for 20 lakh rupees.
The former U-19 World Cup-winning captain didn’t have a memorable run in IPL 2008 and he only managed 165 runs in 13 matches that season. The highest run-scorer in IPL now, Kohli took his time to establish himself in IPL and his IPL career’s graph went up from 2011.
Kohli didn’t come up with exceptional performances in his initial IPL years and not many were confident of him making it big back then.
Former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal, who plied his trade in IPL 2008, recently recalled the season and revealed that he was surprised to see Kohli in IPL 2008.
“I had played the first edition of the IPL. At that time, I was so surprised when I saw Virat Kohli. I used to wonder what cricket he would play at such a young age,” he said. “But he has changed himself totally now, and he has become a role model for youngsters.”
Akmal was one of the Pakistan players who played in IPL 2008. He was a part of Shane Warne-led Rajasthan Royals, who clinched the IPL 2008 title. Akmal hasn’t played an IPL fixture since then.
Despite Kohli’s below-par run in the first three IPL seasons, the RCB management backed him and he is the only player in the history of the league to play for just one franchise. Kohli is also the face of RCB, Indian cricket and leads the national side across all formats.
The RCB’s backing played a huge role in Kohli’s IPL success and he is likely to end his career with the Bangalore-based franchise. The 32-year-old has been leading RCB on a full-time basis since 2013.
