“People said that things like Virat Kohli are not right for RCB”

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) vice-president Rajeev Shukla took a dig at Virat Kohli’s critics after RCB lifted their maiden IPL trophy. Ending a 17-year-long wait, Virat Kohli and co. defeated PBKS by 6 wickets in the IPL 2025 final to win their first-ever title. Shukla said that a lot of people had doubted Virat’s capability in the past and that they had now been silenced.

BCCI VP hits out at Virat Kohli’s critics

In an interview with India Today, the BCCI vice-president pointed out that there was a lot of criticism directed at Kohli, with people saying that he wasn’t the right fit for RCB and that he wasn’t a good captain.

“See, to me, it feels like – amongst those who’ve played the IPL over the last 18 years – Virat has been the constant. And he tried many times to make Bangalore champions, to make RCB champions, but it never happened. People often criticised him, said things like ‘he’s not a good captain,’ ‘he’s not right for an IPL team’ – this and that,” he explained.

Rajeev Shukla noted that RCB had a huge fan base and was extremely popular only because of Virat. He said that no matter where the match was being played, RCB were known by Kohli’s name.

“But whatever the case may be, it’s because of Virat that RCB has such a big fan base and popularity. People around the world follow this team because of him. No matter where a match is played, if Virat’s team is playing, it will be known by his name,” Shukla added.

RCB vs PBKS, IPL 2025 final

Punjab Kings lost by 6 runs as they failed to chase down 191-run target. Shashank Singh remained unbeaten on 61 off 30 balls but it wasn’t enough. Royal Challengers Bengaluru posted 190/9 after being sent to bat. Virat Kohli top-scored with 43 while there were contributions from Jitesh Sharma, Mayank Agarwal and Liam Livingstone. Arshdeep Singh bagged three wickets in the final over while Kyle Jamieson scalped three wickets for 48 runs.