IPL 2018 Player Auction: Stars Retained, Virat Kohli (RCB)

Virat Kohli has played all his Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket with the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). From starting out as an India U-19 pick to leading the side, the stylish right-hander has come a long way. Despite boasting of Kohli and several other cricketing superstars, RCB have never won the IPL. As the tournament heads into its 11th season, Kohli will be aiming to get his hands on the one trophy that has so far eluded him.

Kohli was already one of the highest paid players in the cash-rich league before the IPL Player Retention event, but his salary with RCB received another boost as the franchise shelled out Rs 17 crore to retain the Indian skipper, making him the most expensive IPL player in terms of league fee.

In order to give Kohli the best chance to win the IPL this season, the franchise also retained his good friend and superstar batsman AB de Villiers.

Kohli boats of a phenomenal record in the cash-rich league. In 149 matches, Kohli has accumulated 4418 runs at an average of 37.44. Kohli as notched up 30 fifties and 4 hundreds, scoring his runs at an impressive strike rate of 129.28.

While he enjoyed a record-breaking run in 2016, Kohli failed to fire last year. Not just Kohli, but the entire RCB outfit spectacularly underperformed, resulting in the franchise enduring its worst IPL season. Kohli was extremely critical of the team during his media interactions, using strong words to describe the performance of the batting order.

Kohli is currently the number one ranked batsman in ICC's T20 list. The Delhi batsman has been in solid form right through the home season.

While a lot depends on which players RCB pick up at the auction, in Kohli the franchise has probably the best batsman in the shortest format in Indian conditions.