Good to have faith of people in charge at top: Virat Kohli on backing from RCB top brass

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Virat Kohli feels that his franchise, Royal Challengers Bangalore, has extremely supportive team owners, whose belief in the players and their abilities is extremely motivating and reassuring.  Royal Challengers Bangalore, after a major rejig in 2018, is owned by Royal Challengers Sports Pvt Ltd, whose chairman is Sanjeev Churiwala. This organisation is a subsidiary of Diageo India, whose CEO is Anand Kripalu. Kohli will be leading the RCB side in this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL). 

In a conversation with Danish Sait on ‘Bold Diaries’, when asked about the expectations of the team owners and the subsequent pressure to perform, Kohli candidly shed light on the kind of relationship they share with each other. 

“Sanjeev (Churiwala) and Anand (Kripalu), both have been amazing. They are very practical people, and have remained immensely supportive even when things have been tough for us over the last couple of years. It is a good feeling to know that those who are in charge at the top have faith in you, that they believe in you. That’s all a player requires.”

Kohli claimed that the owners of RCB knew exactly when to have a conversation and when to back away, giving players the needed space to perform their actions. He had an interesting take on Director of Cricket Mike Hesson’s role in the team.

“Precisely why they roped in Mike as well. So, he can take care of the cricket side of things, and act as the intermediary between owners and players. Communication is very nice designated in our set-up. When people don’t take responsibility, the owners come into the picture. We as players don’t feel overburdened in any way, which is a great feeling.”

Kohli has been the skipper of Royal Challengers Bangalore since 2013 and led them to the final in 2016. However, the franchise is yet to win an IPL title. The Delhi-born batsman believes that this time, with valuable additions like Aaron Finch, Chris Morris and Josh Phillippe, the team has the perfect balance of experience and young blood.

Kohli also averred that having only three venues this season will be hugely beneficial for players, as they can relax at one destination for longer periods rather than travelling constantly.

Kohli is the highest run-scorer in IPL history, with upwards of 5412 runs, all scored for RCB. He also holds the record for the highest number runs in a single season, scoring 973 runs in 2016. He remains a vital cog in the RCB top-order and seeks to lead RCB to their first IPL triumph. The IPL will kick-start on September 19, with RCB scheduled to play its first game against the Sunrisers Hyderabad on September 21.