Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batter Virat Kohli recalled AB de Villiers’ legacy in the Indian Premier League (IPL), following his team’s historic title victory. RCB beat Punjab Kings by six wickets in the final of the IPL 2025 to clinch their maiden title and end the 18-year-long trophy drought. To celebrate the historic achievement, former RCB players Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers were also present at the venue and became a part of the team’s jubilation.
As RCB secured the elusive title, Kohli recalled the contributions of AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle for the franchise as he reminisced about their prime years. Kohli, de Villiers and Gayle played together for RCB for seven seasons and the team finished as runners-up twice during the time period.
“I have spent my prime years with them. I know how much we tried to win this. We were so close a couple of times, and we were such a good team; we had the explosiveness, but we could never cross the line. We gave our prime years to this franchise,” Kohli said, visibly emotional in his post-match chat with broadcasters.
Furthermore, Kohli remembered de Villiers’ match-winning knocks, mentioning his record of most Player of the Match awards won in the tournament’s history.
“What he (AB de Villiers) has done for this franchise is absolutely tremendous and I told him that before the game as well that this one is as much yours as it is ours. I want you to celebrate with us when we lift that trophy by the end of the night because what he has done for RCB is so very special. He’s still got maximum number of Man of the Match awards and he is retired for 4 years now. What he means to the people of Bangalore to this team and to this franchise is something that I can’t describe in words, so as I said he deserves to be on that podium with all of us lifting that cup tonight” he added.
De Villiers holds the record for most Player of the Match awards (25) in tournament history, while Gayle sits on the second spot with 22 awards to his name. The duo was two strong pillars of RCB and guided the team to several memorable victories over the years. Hence, Kohli acknowledged their contributions and invited them to be a part of the team’s celebrations.
