Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], May 16 : Ahead of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) match against Delhi Capitals (DC), the franchise's Director of Cricket Mo Bobat, hailed star batter Virat Kohli for his successful career and said the it is "business as usual" for the 36-year-old with ambition to achieve as much as he can for his franchise.
RCB, currently placed in the second spot in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 with eight wins and three losses, giving them 16 points, will be resuming the competition following a temporary suspension with a match against KKR at Bengaluru on Saturday. KKR is at the sixth spot with five wins, six losses, and a no result, giving them 11 points. The IPL action was halted on May 9 for a week due to cross-border tensions between India and Pakistan.
Before the resumption of the tournament and just over a month ahead of India's tour to England, Virat dropped a bombshell Test retirement announcement, putting an end to his 14-year, 123-match career, in which he made 9.230 runs at an average of 46.85, with 30 centuries and 31 fifties, ending as the fourth-highest run-getter for India.
Speaking during the pre-match presser as quoted by a press note from RCB, Bobat said,
"First thing to say is, Virat Kohli's just business as usual. There is enough the public and nation's attention on him, he does not want any more of that. He just wants to get on with business, he is usually ambitious about what we can achieve with RCB. That is his focus."
"I would like to say, though, that he should be incredibly proud of what he's done as a Test player for India. RCB as a franchise, we are all incredibly proud of what every one of our players does in an India shirt, but in particular, him. To play 120-plus test matches and to score nearly 10,000 runs is no mean feat."
"Also, as a captain, his record, 60% win percentage or something like that as captain, again, no mean feat. I can also talk from my previous role as an Englishman working in the English system (as a Director of Cricket for the men's team). He was someone you never wanted to play against," he continued.
Bobat, while recalling his 2018 tour to England, where he made 593 runs in five matches with two centuries and three fifties, said that Virat was always a batter " you wanted to get out".
"You knew that if he was either in the pavilion to come or at the crease, you were in trouble. Some of my fondest memories of watching Test cricket involve him."
"I will never forget the 2018 India series in England. The Test at Edgbaston, watching James Anderson and him do battle like two gladiators. I think James Anderson must have bowled nine overs on the trot at him. It was two of the best players in the world doing their thing. That is what he's about. He is about those special moments, those inspiring moments," he added.
Bobat expressed hope that the public will continue showing love to him. Touching on a possible white jersey tribute from fans at Bengaluru, which was suggested by several fans/fanpages on social media, he said, "It is not something we have thought about or talked about too much. I have certainly noticed that the fans have been talking about that a little bit, but I do not think it will have much of an impact on our play."
In the ongoing season, Virat is the fourth-highest run-getter, with 505 runs in 11 matches at an average of 63.12, with a strike rate of over 143 and seven fifties. His best score is 73*.