'I have thought about it': Virat Kohli reveals he has been approached by IPL franchises in past to leave RCB

Virat Kohli has been one of the best players in the Indian Premier League (IPL) over the years. The run machine is currently the all-time leading run-getter of the league and was the first batter to reach the milestone of 6,000 runs in the history of the tournament. While Kohli has been incredibly successful with the bat, he has also been extremely loyal to his franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).

Kohli has been part of the RCB team since the inception of IPL in 2008 and has been with the franchise throughout his IPL career so far. He has not played for any other team in the tournament and has often expressed his desire to spend his entire IPL career with the side.

While speaking on the RCB podcast recently, Kohli revealed he has been approached by some IPL teams in the past but decided not to leave RCB. Kohli said he said he was requested by the teams to come in the auction somehow and has thought about the same but eventually decided to stay at RCB.

"I've been approached a few times as well -- to come into the auction somehow -- I have thought about it," Kohli said on RCB podcast.

"At the end of the day, a person lives a certain number of years, and then you die and life moves on. There have been many great players who have won trophies and things like that but no one addresses you like that. If you are a good person, people like you and if you are a bad guy, they stay away from you. Eventually, that's what life is all about," Kohli added.

Kohli was picked up by RCB at the IPL auction in 2008 right after he led India to a memorable triumph at the 2008 U-19 World Cup. He was yet to make his debut for the senior Indian team in international cricket back then. Kohli went on to become a superstar at RCB and is currently regarded among the best batters of all time.

He has been incredibly consistent with the bat both at the international level and in the IPL and continues to pile on runs at ease across all formats of the game. Kohli led RCB from 2013 to 2021 before announcing last year that he is stepping down as the team's captain.Kohli is no more the skipper but will continue to be a leader at RCB going forward.