Vijay Mallya, the former owner of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), disclosed that he selected Virat Kohli in the inaugural Indian Premier League (IPL) draft for Under-19 players. RCB recently won the IPL 2025 title, ending a 17-year wait for their first trophy.

Mallya remembers attending the first-ever auction and draft for Under-19 players, which included Kohli at the time. That is where Mallya made the choice to include the Delhi native in the squad. He stated that Kohli’s outstanding performance for India in the Under-19 World Cup 2008 had a significant factor in his decision. Mallya remarked that it was only logical to thereafter appoint the Indian legend as the franchise’s captain.

“I was the one who chose Virat Kohli.” I was waiting for my turn to make the decision, and as soon as it came, I chose Virat. His success with the India Under-19 team was undoubtedly influential. So he was an obvious option to be the RCB captain,” Mallya explained.

Virat Kohli has been with the RCB franchise from the IPL’s start in 2008, and he continues to represent the squad.

The Indian superstar has hit more over 8,600 runs in the event, making him the most prolific run-scorer in IPL history. He has eight centuries and 63 half-centuries in the league thus far. Despite captaining RCB for several years and reaching the finals three times, he was unable to win the trophy over the years.

However, under Rajat Patidar’s captaincy in the IPL 2025, Kohli played an important role as a full-time opener. He made 657 runs in 15 matches, including a critical 43-run knock in the final. With no other batsman making a meaningful contribution, Kohli’s performance proved crucial as RCB defeated Punjab Kings (PBKS) by six runs to win their first IPL title on Tuesday, June 3.