“It’s been 18 years, quite astonishing” - Virat Kohli fondly looks back on his journey ahead of KKR vs RCB IPL 2025 match

Veteran batter Virat Kohli has reflected on his journey with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) ahead of the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) season. The 18th edition of the prestigious tournament kicks off on Saturday, March 22, with RCB set to face the defending champions, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

Ahead of the match, the 36-year-old looked back on his IPL journey with RCB, the franchise he has been a part of since the tournament's inception in 2008. The official RCB X account shared a clip featuring the Delhi-born cricketer, in which he said:

“Pretty much similar to how I feel every year when I come back to play for RCB. It’s a feeling of coming back home. There is a feeling of warmth, belonging and it feels very natural, free flowing. There is no conditions, there is no resistance of any kind. So, I feel absolutely at peace, and at home here.”

“It’s been 18 years, quite astonishing, starting off the IPL journey in itself, we never knew that we would end up being, you know the type of competition it is today. Obviously, the growth of our team of our franchise as well. It has been quite amazing and I’m very grateful and glad to be a large part of it. So yeah, it’s very exciting,” he added.

In the 2024 edition, RCB was knocked out of the tournament after a defeat to Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the eliminator and will be determined to chase glory this season.

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Virat Kohli is the only batter with over 8,000 runs in the IPL

Virat Kohli is the all-time leading run-scorer in IPL history. The right-handed batter has played 252 matches, accumulating 8,004 runs in 244 innings at an average of 38.66, including 55 fifties and eight centuries, with his highest score being an unbeaten 113.

In addition, Kohli holds the record for captaining RCB in the most matches, having led the team in 143 games (the third-highest overall), guiding them to 68 victories.