Virat Kohli is finally an IPL champion. The RCB maestro’s trophy cabinet is finally complete. He won the ODI World Cup in 2011 and the Champions Trophy in 2013 and had gone through more than 10 years without winning any major international tournaments. Then the floodgates opened. He won the ICC T20 World Cup in June 2024, won the ICC ODI Champions Trophy earlier this year, and finally won the Indian Premier League. He was there with RCB on 18 April 2008, the day IPL was born. He is still there with RCB on 3 June 2025. The journey is complete.
Virat Kohli’s thoughts after winning the IPL title
“I gave my youth, my prime, and my experience,” said Kohli while speaking to Matthew Hayden after the match.
Virat Kohli joined RCB as a 19-year-old, after winning the 2008 U-19 World Cup. He played in two IPL finals as a player, in 2009 and 2011. He led RCB to the final of the 2016 season as a 27-year-old. His 973 runs in that gargantuan season remain as an IPL record. Kohli relinquished captaincy at the end of the 2021 season and still continued to give his best as a batter.
“It means so much to me; I’m just, as I said, I have given each and every ounce of my energy to this team, and finally we have won the IPL. It’s an amazing feeling,” said Kohli after finishing the season with 650 runs. He was the top scorer in the final for RCB, scoring 43 off 35 balls.
IPL trophy is right up there
“It’s right up there, if I have to be honest. As I said, I have given everything to the team for the last 18 years. I have been loyal to this team, no matter what. I stood with them (fans and team). They stood behind me. I always dreamt of winning this with them. This is far more special than winning it with anyone else,” said Kohli when he was asked to compare this achievement with the trophies he won with the Indian team.