The Virat Kohli vs AB de Villiers, Hot Dogs vs Cool Cats contest is back at Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) but this time in a new avatar. Just over a week after the two RCB camps squared off in a modified football match, Kohli and De Villiers were face-to-face in the trade they have the most experience in – cricket. RCB shared a picture on social media showing Kohli getting ready to take strike as De Villiers kept wickets behind the RCB captain. The caption was succinct: “Cool Cats vs Hot Dogs, Cricket Edition”.
RCB have never won the Indian Premier League (IPL) despite having made the finals on three occasions – 2009, 2011 and 2016.
Kohli and De Villiers aside, RCB have the likes of Aaron Finch, Parthiv Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Moeen Ali, Washington Sundar, Umesh Yadav and Dale Steyn in their squad.
They play their first IPL game against SunRisers Hyderabad in Dubai on September 21.
Ahead of the season, Kohli said that the squad for IPL 2020 is the “most balanced” that RCB have had since 2016 – the last time they made the final.
Kohli is the highest scorer in IPL with 5412 runs to his name and holds the record for most runs in a single IPL season – 973 runs with four centuries in 2016.
Kohli and De Villiers have formed one of the most prolific partnerships in IPL and the duo hold the record for the highest partnership for any wicket.
They scored 229 runs for the second wicket against Gujarat Lions in Bengaluru in 2016.