How did Virat Kohli react upon receiving USD 50,000 from Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2008?

Virat Kohli remains one of the most delicate batters globally, besides being a top one in the Indian Premier League (IPL), playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). He has been retained for IPL 2022 for ₹15 crore. In IPL 2008, he was roped in for a whopping $50,000, as he says that he was left astonished for the bid amount he received.

Unlike the scenario right now, the U-19 players did not participate in the auction and were picked up through Drafts. The earlier policy defined that each franchise can pick up a couple of U-19 cricketers via the Draft with a salary cap. Kohli was coming off an acceptable U-19 performance, leading his side to glory during the 2008 ICC U-19 World Cup in Malaysia.

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"We were all in Malaysia for the U-19 World Cup. I remember the day when the drafts were happening. The U19 dynamic was a little different. That was the only time where I saw a restriction on how much you can be picked for if you haven't played for India," Kohli told RCB in a podcast.

"So that for us, I remember even that moment for us was so amazing. Because of the amount that we got picked for when they announced it, we couldn't believe it because it was crazy," added Kohli. He even admitted that even Delhi Capitals (DC) was interested in him since he is a Delhite. But, it ended up bagging Pradeep Sangwa to strengthen its bowling attack, leaving Kohli for RCB.

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Since being signed in by RCB, Kohli has never played for any other side in the IPL. However, he has never managed to lay his hands on the coveted trophy yet. Nonetheless, he continues to make a marked impact as a batter, having scripted countless records in the tournament, with some of them being unbreakable.