Virat Kohli, the Indian cricket superstar, has returned to the playing field ahead of the 2024 edition of the IPL. Since Kohli was away from the public eye for the longest time, the fans were keen to have a glimpse of the 'King' as he is lovingly and respectfully called by the fans. Danish Sait, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) insider too followed the routine as he welcomed the former India captain to the stage at the RCB Unbox event on Tuesday, March 19 alongside skipper Faf du Plessis and women's team captain Smriti Mandhana.
However, Kohli was quick to urge Sait not to call him 'King' saying that it's embarrassing for him. As Sait asked Kohli "How is the King feeling?", the crowd went berserk. "It is lovely to be back again," said Kohli but the fans didn't let him speak. The noise went to a level that Sait had to ask the fans to 'let him speak'. Kohli too asked the huge crowd at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru to let him speak before they finally calmed down, only if just a bit.
"Let me talk. Guys, we have to get to Chennai pretty quickly tonight, we have a charter flight so we don't have much time (laughs). Firstly, you need to stop calling me that word [King]. I was telling Faf that I feel very embarrassed every year when you call me that and then they react like that. Just call me Virat please from now on. Don't use that word, it's very embarrassing," Kohli said. The video of the same has gone viral after the event was live streamed on YouTube.
Watch the video here:
RCB rebranded themselves from Royal Challengers Bangalore to Bengaluru, 10 years after the city was renamed. The three-time IPL finalists launched the new team song composed by global popstar and renowned composer Alan Walker who was present at the event among several other performers. The team also launched their new jersey as they get ready for their opening clash against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Friday, March 22.
