Virat Kohli Chooses Kolkata Knight Riders As His Top IPL Rival

Virat Kohli, India's cricket icon, celebrated 16 years in international cricket on Sunday, August 18. On this day in 2008, a young 19-year-old Kohli first donned the Indian jersey.

The rivalry between Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) has been intense over the years. KKR ended their decade-long trophy drought by defeating Sunrisers Hyderabad in this year's IPL finals.

During an interview with Star Sports, Kohli revealed his favourite IPL rival between Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders. Surprisingly, the 35-year-old chose the Shahrukh Khan-owned Kolkata Knight Riders as his preferred rival. This revelation added an interesting twist to the ongoing celebrations of his cricketing journey.

In head-to-head encounters, KKR has a significant edge over RCB. Out of 34 matches played between these two teams, KKR has emerged victorious 20 times, while RCB has won only 14 times. This statistic highlights the competitive nature of their rivalry.

Celebrating 16 glorious years of Virat Kohli in international cricket!

Join us, as we ask @imVkohli about his favorite cricketer, TV show, singer, and 16 other exciting questions in a fun, rapid-fire round to celebrate #16YearsOfVirat! #KingKohli #16YearsOfVirat #ViratKohli pic.twitter.com/S8kJ0x61ws

Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) August 18, 2024

Kohli has had some intriguing moments against KKR in the IPL. He made his IPL debut against KKR in 2008.

Kohli also has a century against the Knights which he scored in 2019. However, he also has some bad memories, a significant one being in 2016 when RCB was bundled out for just 49 runs at the Eden Gardens, the lowest total in IPL history.

BCCI secretary Jay Shah joined in on the celebrations by sharing a post on social media to honour Virat's achievement. The cricketing world is abuzz with tributes and accolades for Kohli as he reflects on his illustrious career spanning over a decade and a half.

The Indian batter has been a stalwart for the nation, scoring numerous runs across formats. The player sat for an interview with Star Sports celebrating his 16-year stint as an India player.