"I was the one who picked Virat Kohli" - Former franchise owner's massive revelation after RCB's much-awaited IPL 2025 triumph

Former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) owner Vijay Mallya has revealed that he picked Virat Kohli ahead of IPL 2008 after the franchise's historic title triumph. Mallya said that Kohli's performances for the Indian U-19 team were an instrumental factor and that he was a favorite to become their captain in the future as well.

Kohli, 36, was finally able to fulfil his dream of lifting the IPL trophy, having been part of three defeats in finals in 2009, 2011, and 2016. He helped his side beat the Punjab Kings in the IPL 2025 final on June 3. The veteran batter top-scored with 43 off 35 deliveries to help RCB reach 190, and they eventually won by six runs.

Speaking to Cricbuzz, the Indian businessman recalled the inaugural IPL auction and said:

"I was the one who picked Virat Kohli. I was sitting there for the pick, and the minute it was my turn, I immediately chose Virat. Obviously, his performance with the India Under-19 team was an influencing factor. So, he was a natural choice to be the RCB captain."

Sharing his thoughts on Bengaluru's historic title win, Mallya observed that the balance of the team seemed quite good this time. He added that it helped further that every player was stepping up, elaborating:

"I mean, the fact that they had such a fantastic away record - I knew that this time the balance of the team was good. Every player was stepping up, and as a unit, they were performing very well. So, it was not a surprise that they got to the finals.

"Of course, there are so many other factors in a final game - such a big game - such as experience, such as, you know, mental strength and everything else. RCB showed that it had a good balance of young players as well as experienced players, and everybody, as I said, stepped up to the plate."

In 15 matches, the Royal Challengers notably had nine different players bagging Player of the Match award performances. Before winning the Player of the Match in the final, Krunal Pandya achieved it against the Delhi Capitals too, mainly for his 47-ball 73*.

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"He did a splendid job" - Vijay Mallya on Rajat Patidar's run as RCB captain

RCB captain Rajat Patidar holds the tropby aloft. (Credits: Getty)

Mallya also said Rajat Patidar impressed him as captain and praised him for not being overawed by a stalwart like Kohli around him, adding:

"I think Rajat has done an outstanding job. It's not easy to just sort of accept the captaincy when you have stalwarts like Virat Kohli around. But he did a splendid job. I saw him right through this campaign, and yeah, I believe his only earlier experience as a skipper was with the Madhya Pradesh state team. But you know, as the captain of an IPL squad, I think he performed remarkably well."

Patidar went on to become an IPL-winning captain in his first season as skipper.