Star batter Virat Kohli expressed his delight after being retained by the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction.
Rajat Patidar and Yash Dayal were the other two players retained by RCB on Thursday (October 31) – the final date to announce the retention list.
While Kohli was retained for a whopping price of INR 21 crore, Patidar and Dayal bagged INR 11 crore and INR 5 crore respectively.
"Hi Guys, a big hello to everyone at RCB, the fans, the people involved. Behind the scenes. The management, everyone. I'm sending out this message to inform everyone that l've been retained by RCB once again for the three-year cycle of the IPL, beginning next year, and I'm super excited as ever. Everyone knows what RCB means to me. It's been a very, very special relationship over so many years which continues to grow stronger and what I've experienced playing for RCB is truly, truly special, and I hope the fans and everyone who's connected to a franchise feels the same way. At the end of this cycle it's going to be 20 years that l am going to play for RCB and then that in itself is an honour," Kohli said in a video posted by the RCB on their social media handle.
Kohli further stated that the goal of the franchise would be to win at least one IPL title in the three-year cycle.
"Something that we were really looking forward to as a franchise, as a team and also just looking ahead to this cycle all next year. Obviously, the goal is to win the IPL title at least once in the next cycle, and we're going to give it our best shot as always and try to make everyone proud of the way we play. So a big shout-out to the fans for your unwavering support over so many years. Really grateful, really thankful and l'l see you guys very soon. At Chinnaswamy. One cheers. Take care," he added.
By retaining the aforementioned three players, RCB subtracted a total of INR 37 crore from their overall purse of INR 120 crore. They might still use a Right to Match (RTM) card for pacer Mohammed Siraj and other members of the squad at the grand auction next month.
