An Indian student in the United States waved the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) jersey on stage during her graduation ceremony last week. Likhitha Suggala, a die-hard fan of Virat Kohli, arrived on stage with a red and blue RCB jersey which she help up to show the audience, thus, displaying her admiration and loyalty to the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise.
"Royal Challengers Bengaluru is a team that taught us fans many things beyond cricket. Fifteen years strong, and still standing by my team's side, true loyalty knows no defeat," she wrote on Instagram.
"Just a junior continuing the ritual started by her senior Ruthvik Sankar. Hope my juniors would do the same."
Watch the video here:
Suggala completed her Masters degree in computer and information sciences from the University of Michigan-Dearborn. She waved the RCB jersey on stage during the university's Spring 2024 commencement ceremony during which she was given her post-graduation certificate.
{{/usCountry}}Suggala completed her Masters degree in computer and information sciences from the University of Michigan-Dearborn. She waved the RCB jersey on stage during the university's Spring 2024 commencement ceremony during which she was given her post-graduation certificate.
{{/usCountry}}Her video on Instagram has garnered over two million views and 1.21 lakh 'likes'. The clip has also found its way to RCB and Virat Kohli fan pages.
“Thank me, RCBians. I took you to the US,” Suggala wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
The Indian student, who dreams of becoming a professor, thanked her university for all the support she received during her time as a student there.
“One of my teachers asked me why I wanted to become a teacher instead of a software engineer. I replied, 'I could become an engineer, but I want to build 100 more engineers, and that's possible only through teaching.' I still remember the pride in his eyes,” she wrote on LinkedIn.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru is currently at the bottom of the rankings in IPL 2024, with three wins, seven losses and six points.
But RCB's star batsman Virat Kohli is the highest run-scorer in the league's history, with 7,763 runs at an average of 38.43 and a strike rate of 131.02. His best score is 113*. He has scored eight centuries and 54 fifties.