Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain Virat Kohli said the kind of love and loyalty of fans that he has experienced turning up for the RCB despite not always repaying that faith, he'll never even consider shifting base and playing for any other team in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Kohli, during an Instagram live chat session with teammate and friend AB de Villiers, reaffirmed that winning the IPL trophy remains a desperate goal but that isn't to say the lack of results will push him into leaving the RCB camp.
"It has been such an amazing journey. It is always going to be our dream, winning the IPL together. There is no scenario where I could think of leaving the team ever," said Kohli, who has been with RCB since the inaugural IPL season in 2008.
"You can feel emotional about the season not going well but till the time I am playing IPL, I am never leaving this team. The fans, their loyalty has been amazing."
"Same for me," added De Villiers. "I never want to leave RCB but to do that I got to keep scoring runs. I am not the captain you see."
Kohli then had a word of healthy advise for the youngsters. "I want to see youngsters coming in scoring 500-600 runs. I want people to break the norm," he said. "Sometimes I feel people have too much regard for the system in sport. When you break the shackles, you do something special."
The India skipper also talked about the contribution of some of the coaches early on in his international career.
"Gary (Kirsten) always gave me positive feedback. (Mark) Boucher told me in 2008 to improve my game against the short ball. He had the vision. Then (Duncan) Fletcher, he had a keen eye for the game. So many people who have contributed (to my growth)," he said.
De Villiers picked his amazing ton in the 2015 ODI series decider at the Wankhede Stadium as his best knock against India while Kohli recalled the great hundred in the 2013 Jo'burg Test as his best versus South Africa.
"I was always really motivated to win the series after 2-2 . I was incredibly motivated to do something special," De Villiers said.
They both also went about selecting their all-time combined India-South Africa ODI XI.
The team featured Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Jacques Kallis, MS Dhoni (captain), Yuvraj Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Dale Steyn, Jasprit Bumrah and Kagiso Rabada.
(Inputs from PTI)
