RCB icons Virat Kohli, AB de Villers and Chris Gayle (Image: X)

Virat Kohli opened up on the deep emotional bond he shares with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, explaining how the franchise not only shaped his own cricketing journey but also helped global stars like AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle become iconic figures among Indian fans.Speaking on a podcast with RCB, Kohli reflected on the emotional impact RCB has had on players over the years and why finally winning the IPL title after 18 seasons felt uniquely special. Kohli said the franchise has always had a natural ability to connect with players and elevate them beyond just performances on the field. According to him, AB de Villiers became a beloved icon in India largely because of the love and support he received while representing RCB.”I mean, it’s impact, right? AB became this 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 the words, the impact he had. Very organically, things fell in place with Chris as well. He was sitting at home, gets called midseason, has the season of his life. He’s completely life changed within a week coming to Bangalore. So our franchise, our city, our team, our fans, has been about impacting people in a very natural way,” Virat Kohli said. He admitted that he personally experienced that impact more than anyone else during his 18-year association with the franchise, culminating in the long-awaited IPL title triumph last season. Kohli described the emotional scenes after the victory, when he dropped to his knees in tears, as a moment of gratitude rather than relief.”I felt that impact probably more than anyone over the course of 18 years, till the last year we won the trophy. And I think 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” Kohli revealed.The batting superstar further explained that the 18-year wait made the title victory even more meaningful. He said the emotional weight of years of pressure, expectations and heartbreak made the eventual triumph incomparable to anything he might have felt had RCB won the trophy earlier in their journey.”I can for sure, with absolute honesty and clarity, say that it wouldn’t have been 5 % of the feeling I had had we wanted 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,” Kohli concluded.