'The signing amount was absolutely crazy' - Virat Kohli recalls getting picked by RCB in IPL 2008

Virat Kohli has had a decorated IPL career so far. Apart from shattering numerous records in international cricket, he is also a very accomplished IPL batter having scored the most number of runs in the marquee tournament (6283), the second-most number of centuries (5), and has also amassed the most runs in a single season (973 runs in 2016).

He has been associated with the Royal Challengers Bangalore ever since the inception of the showpiece event in 2008. He was roped in by the franchise during that year’s ICC U19 World Cup in Malaysia where he eventually went on to lead India to a second title. Meanwhile, the modern-day batting great went back in time and spoke about getting picked by the RCB and how he reacted when he got to know about his signing amount.

“We were all in Malaysia for the U-19 World Cup. I remember the day when the drafts were happening. The U19 dynamic was a little different, because we very rightly so had a money cap, if I could say. That was the only time where I saw a restriction on how much you can be picked for if you haven’t played for India”, said Virat Kohli while speaking to Danish Sait in a podcast for RCB.

The signing amount was absolutely crazy, says Kohli

At the same time, the former Indian captain also mentioned that he was thrilled after knowing his signing amount with RCB since the money that he was being offered was phenomenal especially taking into consideration that he had not yet attained fame and fortune back then.

“So that for us, I remember even that moment for us was so amazing. Because the amount that we got picked for when they announced it, we couldn’t believe it because it was absolutely crazy,” he said. Virat Kohli was reportedly signed in for a sum of USD 30,000 in the 2008 IPL auction.

The 2011 World Cup winner led the Royal Challengers Bangalore for nine seasons from 2013 to 2021 and led them to the playoffs thrice in 2015, 2020, and 2021 editions and the final of the 2016 season where they lost to southern rivals Sunrisers Hyderabad. The batting icon has been retained by the three-time finalists for IPL 2022 but he will not be leading them this time.