India Test and ODI skipper Virat Kohli has said that he did not have any second thoughts on staying with Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for the next three editions of the tournament. RCB revealed their retained players ahead of the mega auction and they were Kohli, Glenn Maxwell and Mohammed Siraj. “The journey continues, I have been retained by RCB. When I was contacted, did not have any second thoughts at all. It has been an amazing journey over the years, three more years with the franchise that means so much to me. I believe the best is yet to come and I have a special feeling about what is to come next season onwards,” said Kohli in a video posted on the official YouTube channel of RCB.

“Our fan base is amazing, management has been amazing with me and all other players. Renewed energy and a different version of me on the field. But I will be there with my heart and soul for RCB,” he added.

Midway through the IPL 2021 season, Kohli had announced that he would not be leading the franchise from 2022 onwards.

Kohli, who has been with the team since its inception, was retained for INR 15 crores. Maxwell, who was signed by the team last season, remains with the side with a tag of INR 11 crores. Siraj, who has been with the team since 2018, will carry on with RCB for a sum of INR 7 crores.

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Speaking about the retained players, Mike Hesson, Director of Cricket Operations, RCB, said, “The player retention process has been pretty robust and exhaustive. We’ve got an exceptional bunch of players but the key for us was to ensure we have a sizeable auction purse going into the IPL Mega Auction. We had many good players whom we considered and were happy to retain, but that would have taken away our flexibility from the auction to get a balanced squad.”

“We look to retain as many players during the auction as we build the perfect squad for 2022 and beyond,” he added.