Former Royal Challengers Bengaluru head coach Sanjay Bangar has shed light on Virat Kohli’s decision to stay with the franchise. Kohli was roped in by RCB in IPL 2008 as a domestic player and then he was able to grab his opportunity by performing consistently in the lucrative tournament.

Kohli is the leading run-getter in the IPL history with 9336 runs in 275 innings at an average of 40.41. Since the inception of the tournament, Kohli has only played for RCB.

Bangar highlighted that it was always Kohli’s decision to stay with the franchise as he had so many achievements.

“It doesn’t happen by design because when he got an opportunity at the start, he was picked as a domestic player. Then he played for India. At that time, Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers played for RCB, and they bore the team’s responsibility, and he kept getting better,” Sanjay Bangar said on Great Indian Cricket Show on DD Sports.

“After that, when it came to retention, the management also showed faith in him, and he had so many achievements that the decision was always his. He never wants to leave this team because Bengaluru is a beautiful city. Secondly, whether you are winning or losing, it doesn’t make a difference to the fans. They have consistently backed the team,” he added.

Bangar said RCB has become a huge brand and Kohli has played a key role in the same.

“RCB has become a huge brand, the way it has been marketed as well. RCB’s social media team has done an excellent job with the kind of content they post about the behind-the-scenes happenings or the auction planning,” he replied.

RCB have won the last two IPL titles after coming up with a collective effort.