In a truly heartwarming moment for Royal Challengers Bengaluru fans, Virat Kohli was captured teaching the iconic Ee Saala Cup Namdu (this year, the cup is ours) phrase to former RCB cricketing greats Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers following RCB’s thrilling six-run victory over Punjab Kings in the final of the 2025 Indian Premier League.

Virat Kohli demanded Gayle and de Villiers repeat the mantra on live television as the win celebrations continued well past midnight at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

The three, who had been with the franchise for numerous years through thick and thin, repeated the famed statement together on air, creating a memorable moment for both the audience at the venue and those watching on live television.

E sala cup namdu #esalacupnamdu kohli #gayle #abd #ipl pic.twitter.com/W6YEpsSpHl

— Harish.H (@Harishhalebeedu) June 3, 2025

Before this historic moment, Kohli shared his genuine emotions and what it meant to him to win the title after so many seasons of futile pursuit of the coveted silverware, with Gayle and de Villiers the only constants by his side.

“For me, it is extremely special to be able to share it with these two (Gayle and de Villiers) because I spent my prime years with them and know how hard we worked to win this. We had that explosiveness in our team, but we were never able to cross the line, and it hurts all of us because we devoted our prime years to this franchise and we truly, really wanted to win that title for RCB. “I promise you, this feels ten times more special because these two are standing next to us,” an emotional Kohli told Star Sports in a post-match interview.

Kohli, who finished IPL 2025 with 657 runs in 15 innings, admitted that the trophy belonged just as much to Gayle and de Villiers as it did to him because of the relationship they had built over the years with Bengaluru and RCB’s local fan base in the Garden City.

“The term is as much theirs as mine because it reflects the relationship you see when they visit Bengaluru. It’s not only me. When they come (to the city), you can see how much people love them, and they go absolutely crazy because they know and appreciate that they’ve given their heart and soul for this team since they first played here, and they deserve it as much as I do. I know people are emotional, and they can get carried away, but these two guys have given it everything as well, so it’s equally theirs,” Kohli added.