‘I was the one who picked him’ – Vijay Mallya recalls choosing Virat Kohli for IPL 2008

Former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) owner Vijay Mallya revealed that he was the one who selected Virat Kohli during the inaugural Indian Premier League (IPL) draft for Under-19 players. RCB recently clinched the IPL 2025 title, ending a 17-year-long wait for their maiden trophy.

Mallya recalled being present at the first-ever auction and the draft for Under-19 players of which Kohli was part of then. That is where Mallya made the decision to bring the Delhi boy into the squad. He noted that Kohli’s impressive performance for India in the Under-19 World Cup 2008 played a key role in influencing his decision. Mallya added that it was only natural to later appoint the Indian stalwart as the captain of the franchise.

“I was the one who picked Virat Kohli. I was sitting there for the pick, and the minute it was my turn, I immediately chose Virat. Obviously, his performance with the India Under-19 team was an influencing factor. So, he was a natural choice to be the RCB captain,” said Mallya as quoted by Cricbuzz.

Kohli has been a part of the RCB franchise since the inception of the IPL in 2008 and continues to represent the team. The Indian legend has scored over 8,600 runs in the tournament, making him the highest run-scorer in IPL history. He has registered eight centuries and 63 half-centuries in the league so far. Despite leading RCB as captain for several years and reaching the finals with the team three times, he was unable to secure the title over the years.

But, in IPL 2025, under the captaincy of Rajat Patidar, Kohli played a pivotal role as a full-time opening batter. He scored 657 runs in 15 matches which included a crucial 43-run knock in the final. With no other batter making a significant contribution, Kohli’s innings proved vital as RCB edged past Punjab Kings (PBKS) by six runs to win their maiden IPL title on Tuesday, June 3.