Travelling fans of CSK have always enlivened the south side derby between Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore, according to Virat Kohli. Speaking to JioHotstar’s ’18 calling 18′ show, Kohli said,
“I would say one team that, historically, I’ve felt we’ve had the most intense games with is Chennai Super Kings in Bengaluru.”
Kohli reckoned that playing CSK in Bengaluru was something else. “Because in Chennai, of course, there are Chennai fans—it’s just yellow and CSK fans everywhere. But to play against CSK in Bengaluru is something else, because a lot of Chennai fans come to Bengaluru. CSK fans travel in huge numbers, so they buy tickets very early and take over a section of the stadium,” he described.
While RCB defeated CSK at Chepauk after many seasons, Kohli said that the rivalry always hot the high notes. “So, there’s an intense atmosphere inside the stadium in Bengaluru when playing against CSK. And then, obviously, the game also gets very intense and competitive. That environment is the most exciting I’ve been a part of,” he said.
Kohli also recollected his first auction while going down memory lane. Describing his excitement during the inaugural IPL season in 2008 and how surreal the experience was, he said, “The first year was exciting in terms of unexpected things happening. We hadn’t played a lot of T20 cricket. Secondly, franchise cricket allowed us to play with different players from all over the world—players we looked up to,” he recalled.
The auction had erupted on the youngsters playing in Kuala Lumpur back then. “When the auction happened, we were in Malaysia, in Kuala Lumpur, and we were sold as first-class cricketers, who were limited to ₹20 lakhs. We went crazy in the corridor—‘We got ₹20 lakhs!’ That was the emotion behind it. Because we didn’t know what to expect—the opening ceremony, the whole experience of meeting great cricketers—it was surreal.”
Kohli also said he never expected the IPL would reach this stage. “It’s been a long journey—one that we have seen grow, evolve, and become this amazing spectacle. Honestly, when IPL started, I never thought it could reach a stage like this. But 18 years and rolling, and every year you feel the same excitement, if not more, which is a massive credit to the league, the way it’s organized, the teams, the competitiveness, and the professionalism—top-notch,” he said.
