This may be difficult for many to even contemplate but not always was Virat Kohli the most sought-after star in IPL. “There were many teams who had the opportunity but they didn’t back me, they didn’t believe in me,” Kohli said in a recent Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) podcast.
Among the disbelievers were his city franchise Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) who overlooked him for pacer Pradeep Sangwan when Kohli was among 14 members of the 2008 U-19 World Cup
This may be difficult for many to even contemplate but not always was Virat Kohli the most sought-after star in IPL. “There were many teams who had the opportunity but they didn’t back me, they didn’t believe in me,” Kohli said in a recent Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) podcast.
Among the disbelievers were his city franchise Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) who overlooked him for pacer Pradeep Sangwan when Kohli was among 14 members of the 2008 U-19 World Cup winning squad to bag an IPL contract in 2008.
“What this franchise (RCB) has given me in terms of opportunity in the first three years and believed in me, that is the most special,” said Kohli.
Kohli wasn’t a runaway success then but RCB retained him ahead of the 2011 auction over stars like Kevin Pietersen, Jacques Kallis and Dale Steyn. This forged the making of Kohli’s one-franchise association, like MS Dhoni’s with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in IPL, Ryan Giggs and Manchester United, Los Angeles Lakers and Kobe Bryant.
Sponsors’ choice
The faith RCB reposed in a young Kohli yielded dividends in the years to come when, in the past decade, he blossomed into India’s leading all-format player. Kohli’s charisma and in-your-face aggression that shaped his brand saw sponsors gravitate towards him and, in turn, his franchise. Wrogn, the fashion brand curated by Kohli, became RCB’s principal sponsors in 2019. Sportsgoods giants Puma, who have a long-term association with Kohli, signed a multi-year partnership with RCB in 2021. RCB’s subsequent signings in AB De Villiers and Chris Gayle saw the franchise’s star quotient soar so sharply that the Chinnaswamy stadium would always be packed.
Ticket sales and merchandising make for less than 20 per cent revenue of an IPL franchise. But the superstardom Kohli enjoyed, almost made him a unique identifier of RCB. Kohli would go on to lead India for seven years and there was never any doubt that he would remain RCB captain. That meant, despite nine failed attempts at winning IPL, neither the franchise nor the player ended the partnership. “I have been approached many times to come to the auction. But the loyalty with RCB is far greater for me than for someone to say, finally you are an IPL champion with X, Y or Z,” said Kohli.
For the franchise, the decision to keep the faith may have been trickier. “A look at the largest deals in the sponsorship space not only in the IPL, but also internationally reveal that teams that are better on-field performers garner higher sponsorship values,” wrote Harsh Talikoti, vice-president, D & P Advisory in Duff and Phelps’ IPL brand valuation report. “In IPL, the estimated lead sponsorships are valued at a 100% premium for a top ranked team over its lower-rung peer.”
But RCB’s is an exception with underwhelming performances having limited commercial impact. The report valued RCB at ₹536 crore, as of 2020. That’s No.4 among the eight older franchises; comfortably ahead of Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals, both former IPL winners, and behind only Mumbai Indians, CSK and Kolkata Knight Riders, who, between them, have won 11 of the 14 titles. A lot of it is down to Kohli’s incredible popularity among millennials, which the market calls the spending consumer.
It is also a measure of Kohli’s phenomenal ability that he can lord it over market forces in a T20 league, a format least suited to his batting. While Kohli’s longevity and batting class ensures, he tops with most runs and has the second-most 100’s in IPL, his strike rate—a key barometer in T20—is 129.94, which places him at No.72 on the all-time list. The one season Kohli was prolific was 2016, when he amassed 973 runs at a SR of 152.03 and his team finished 8 runs short of lifting the title.
Change in status
Having relinquished captaincy, this will be a season of reckoning for Kohli. Will his brand value change? Will he bat at No. 3? He would love to but that decision will no longer be his to make. In a fast-evolving format where batting anchors are being consigned to the margins by power-hitters, the coming years will be for Kohli to reinforce his utility as a batting force.
“Even with him (Kohli) not being the captain, the energy he brings to himself and to the team is hugely important for us. We’ll try and use that as best as we can,” said Faf du Plessis, the man replacing Kohli as RCB captain.
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