Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) retained Virat Kohli ahead of the IPL 2022 mega-auction, along with Glenn Maxwell and Mohammed Siraj. Kohli said he did not have any second thoughts on staying with RCB for the next three seasons of IPL.

Kohli, who had decided to quit RCB captaincy after IPL 2021, said the best is yet to come for the franchise and he has a special feeling for the season coming up. RCB was successful in making it to the top four in the last two seasons after missing out in IPL 2017, 2018, and 2019. 

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"The journey continues, I have been retained by RCB. When I was contacted, did not have any second thoughts at all. It has been an amazing journey over the years, three more years with the franchise that means so much to me. I believe the best is yet to come and I have a special feeling about what is to come next season onwards," he said in a video posted on the official YouTube channel of RCB.

"Our fan base is amazing, management has been amazing with me and all other players. Renewed energy and a different version of me on the field. But I will be there with my heart and soul for RCB," he added.

The 33-year-old was the first preferred player for retention by RCB at INR 15 crores. The franchise paid INR 11 crores to Maxwell and INR 7 crores to Siraj for their service in upcoming seasons.

RCB Director of Cricket Operations, Mike Hesson spoke on the retained players and said, "The player retention process has been pretty robust and exhaustive. We've got an exceptional bunch of players but the key for us was to ensure we have a sizeable auction purse going into the IPL Mega Auction. We had many good players whom we considered and were happy to retain, but that would have taken away our flexibility from the auction to get a balanced squad."

"We look to retain as many players during the auction as we build the perfect squad for 2022 and beyond," he added.

(With ANI Inputs)