Not MS Dhoni or Rohit Sharma! Virat Kohli picks these two legends as GOATs of IPL

Kohli was asked about who he thinks are the GOATs of IPL, his answer was AB de Villiers and Lasith Malinga.

Not MS Dhoni or Rohit Sharma! Virat Kohli picks these two legends as GOATs of IPL

MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli

Former Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain Virat Kohli has competed against some of the great players like him in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Players like MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Jasprit Bumarh, Rohit Sharma, Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers, etc. have graced the IPL with their presence.

And when Kohli was asked about who he thinks are the GOATs (Greatest of All Time) of IPL, his answer was AB de Villiers and Lasith Malinga. Both the greats of the game have retired from the cricketing extravaganza. “AB de Villiers and Lasith Malinga are the GOATs of IPL,” Kohli said in an interview with JioCinema.

With de Villiers, Kohli has not just shared the dressing room for the RCB but created several records with their batting together. The Proteas retired after the 2021 season, but not before scoring 5162 runs from 184 IPL matches at an average of 39.71 and a strike rate of 151.69.

Malinga had been an integral part of the Mumbai Indians (MI) franchise for his death bowling and played for the franchise in his entire IPL career. For the team, he has scalped 170 wickets (third-highest) in 122 matches at an economy of 7.14, not to forget, he won four IPL titles with Mumbai.

Related: Why is Virat Kohli the captain of RCB against Punjab Kings?

Virat Kohli reveals an IPL franchise rejected him

Not MS Dhoni or Rohit Sharma! Virat Kohli picks these legends as GOATs of IPL
Virat Kohli

Kohli is one of the few players who has played for a single franchise since the start of the IPL in 2008. But as he wanted to bat at No.3, he approached another franchise but they turned him down. He used to bat for the RCB at No. 4, 5, and 6 in the first three years of IPL.

In 2011 when the retentions were happening, Kohli was then asked by the same franchise to come to the auction pool, however, he refused the offer because he got the backing of the then RCB coach Rey Jennings.

“The same franchise, because I had played for India and performed in 2011, before the retention, came to me and said, can you please come to auction?’ I said, ‘No chance. I will always be with the franchise that backs me,” Kohli told Robin Uthappa on JioCinema.

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