IPL 2025: Virat Kohli Recalls Stunning Conversation With Ex RCB Star And How it Impacted Him in Early Years

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Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batter Virat Kohli has played with several big names from the country over the years, but the former Team India skipper said it was one overseas star who played with him in the initial years of the Indian Premier League (IPL) that had huge impact on him.

Kohli revealed that former South African wicketkeeper-batter Mark Boucher, who played for RCB from season 2008 to 2010, was the player that had an impact on him during his initial years in IPL, saying that his conversations with the Protean legend "stunned" him.

The 36-year-old Indian staltwart shared about this conversation during the upcoming RCB podcast, for which a trailer was released on Friday (May 2) via the team's official X handle.

Speaking on his conversations with Boucher, Kohli said, "Out of all players I played with initially, Boucher had the biggest impact on me. He figured out what my weaknesses could be, If I wanted to go to the next level, this is what I need to do, without me asking him anything.

"He told me that 'when I comes to commentate in India three-four years from now and I do not see you playing for India, you would do a disservice to yourself. So he really stunned me with the conversations he had with me."

After Boucher moved on from RCB, the Protea wicketkeeping great played for Kolkata Knight Riders in 2011 as Kohli slowly found his feet in international cricket and just about entered the Test cricket arena for India. Since then, Kohli has become a permanent fixture in the longest format.

While many players have come and moved on, Kohli has been ever-present at the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, and the former skipper opened up on his loyalty to RCB, a franchise he has stuck with since the start of his IPL career.

On the RCB fan support, Kohli added that the "relationship and mutual respect" he has with the franchise is more valuable. "The love that I have received from the fans, I do not think any silverware or any trophy can come close to that," he added.

Kohli, who retired from the shorted format on the international stage last year after the T20 World Cup triumph, also said that nothing in IPL has changed for him after T20I retirement before revealing why he called it quits.

"I do not think things have changed for me in any way. The decision (to leave T20Is) was taken purely understanding that there is a new set of players who are more than ready and they need time, they need a 2-year cycle to evolve, handle pressure, play in different parts of the world, and play enough games to the point where when the World Cup comes, they feel like they are ready," he concluded.

In the ongoing IPL 2025, Kohli is once again among the highest-run-getters, with 443 runs in 10 innings at an average of 63.28, a strike rate of almost 139, and six fifties, with the best score of 73*.

Kohli's RCB currently sit at the second spot on the IPL 2025 points table with seven wins and three losses, but they will look to reclaim top spot when they host Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday (May 3).