'He was very flamboyant at that time' - Swapnil Singh explains how Virat Kohli has changed with time

Royal Challengers Bengaluru anticipated a change in their fortune as they stormed into the Indian Premier League 2024 playoffs. But the coveted title remained elusive as they succumbed to Rajasthan Royals in the Eliminator. Virat Kohli emerged as the top-scorer of the tournament and continued to inspire the young generation. One of his ardent fans, Swapnil Singh got the opportunity to share the dressing room with the Indian great while at the RCB for IPL 2024.

Swapnil Singh was inducted late into the playing XI as RCB had lost hopes of qualifying for the playoffs. But the bowling all-rounder impressed many with his easy pickings and late burst down the order. After RCB’s ouster from the tournament, Swapnil delved into his first impressions of Kohli from Under-19 days. He attributed the former India captain to being a flamboyant chap earlier and becoming calm and composed at his peak.

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“We played together in U19 and U15, Kohli was a very flamboyant personality at that time. But when I met him this time, there was a huge change in him. He is into himself, he’s become calmer, loves to spend time with his family and talks less but talks wisely. He (Kohli) told me to stick to the basics and strengthen them. When you are doing well, you need to focus more and more on the basics. We talked a lot and he kept telling me the same thing,” said Swapnil as quoted by News18.

Kohli doing his usual things in IPL

Talking about Kohli, he had an outstanding IPL 2024 with the bat as his usual consistency was in the play. The 35-year-old was criticized ahead of the tournament for his subpar strike-rate in the shortest format of the game. Kohli answered all the questions with 741 runs in 15 innings at an average of over 65. He also notched up his eighth IPL century as he smashed 113 off 72 against Rajasthan Royals.