Vijay Mallya reveals he 'wanted RCB to be more than a cricket team', says 'biggest pride was spotting Virat Kohli'

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In a four-hour conversation with popular YouTuber Raj Shamani, fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya revealed the idea behind acquiring the Bengaluru franchise ahead of the inaugural IPL season in 2008 and his first impressions of future superstar Virat Kohli, who has remained loyal to the team ever since. read more
Vijay Mallya might be a fugitive on the run, but that hasn't stopped him from appearing on a popular podcast where he opened up on a variety of topics – from the failure of Kingfisher Airlines to acquiring the Indian Premier League franchise Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Former businessman Mallya, who is accused of defaulting loans worth over Rs 9,000 crore and is currently fighting New Delhi's request for extradition in the United Kingdom, issued a rare apology for the failure of Kingfisher Airlines , denied accusations of theft and offered his take on why he left India nearly a decade back and has been on the run ever since during a four-hour conversation with popular YouTuber Raj Shamani.
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Mallya, who had been nicknamed the 'King of Good Times' for his flamboyant lifestyle, also opened up on acquiring RCB ahead of the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League in 2008, revealing that he had bid for three franchises including Mumbai Indians.
'I was very impressed with the pitch that Lalit Modi made to the BCCI committee about this league. He called me one day and said ok, teams are going to be auctioned. Are you going to buy it? So, I bid from three franchises, and I lost Mumbai by a very small amount of money,' Mallya said on the latest episode of Figuring Out With Raj Shamani that was posted to the Google-owned video-sharing platform on Thursday.
'When I bid for the RCB franchise in 2008, I saw the IPL as a game-changer for Indian cricket. My vision was to create a team that embodied the spirit of Bangalore—vibrant, dynamic, glamorous. I paid $112 million, the second-highest bid, because I believed in the potential. I wanted RCB to be a brand that stood for excellence, not just on the field but off it too. That's why I tied it to Royal Challenge, one of our top-selling liquor brands, to give it that bold identity,' the former chairman of United Spirits Limited added.
Mallya, who was a regular at RCB's matches along with his son Siddharth before leaving India, added that he wanted the franchise – which enjoys a huge fan following and a brand value that rivals that of five-time champions Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians –to be 'more than a cricket team'.
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'I wanted RCB to be more than a cricket team. It was about creating a lifestyle brand. The after-parties, the cheerleaders, the fan engagement—it was all deliberate to make RCB the most exciting franchise. Kingfisher and Royal Challenge were sponsors, so we leveraged that to make every match an event. People called it flashy, but it was strategic. Bangalore loved it, and RCB became the city's heartbeat,' he added.
'My inner instinct told me he was special': Mallya on Kohli
The podcast was released a couple of days after RCB ended a 17-year wait for a maiden IPL title with a six-run victory over Punjab Kings in the final at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium. The Royal Challengers had finished runners-up thrice in the past – in 2009, 2011 and 2016 – before conquering the final hurdle on Tuesday.
Virat Kohli stayed loyal to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru throughout his career and finally fulfilled his dream of lifting the IPL trophy on Tuesday. AP
The victory was a cathartic moment for batting superstar and former India and RCB captain Virat Kohli, who had stayed loyal to the franchise from the very first IPL season , and finally got to lay his hands on the glittering trophy after all these years.
Mallya recalled that while picking Rahul Dravid as the franchise's icon player was a no-brainer, his 'biggest pride' was spotting a young Virat Kohli, who had led India to victory in the U-19 World Cup just a couple of months before the first IPL match, as a future star.
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'I handpicked players who could make RCB a powerhouse. My biggest pride was spotting Virat Kohli, a youngster from the Under-19 World Cup team. My inner instinct told me he was special, and I bid for him,' Mallya continued. 'Getting Rahul Dravid as our icon player was a no-brainer—he was Bangalore's pride. We also brought in global stars like Jacques Kallis, Anil Kumble, and Zaheer Khan. I wanted a mix of local heroes and international flair. My dream was to bring the IPL trophy to Bangalore, and I built the team with that goal.
'Shortly before the actual selection process, they were playing the U-19 World Cup, and I was very impressed with him. So, I picked him, and it's wonderful, 18 years later, he is still there. He was a young kid at that time when I got him, but you know, full of energy, great talent, and you know, one of the greatest Indian cricketers ever,' he added.
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IPL history, however, would have been vastly different had the Delhi Capitals (then Daredevils) not overlooked Kohli in favour Pradeep Sangwan, a left-arm pacer who also happened to hail from the National Capital. In a recent interview on Cricbuzz, Virender Sehwag – captain of the Delhi franchise in its early years – revealed that Kohli did not get to represent his hometown in the IPL due to a stacked batting department that included future RCB teammate AB de Villiers.
Delhi's historic decision allowed RCB to snap up the 2008 U-19 World Cup-winning captain, which marked the beginning of a journey that has completed 18 seasons and is still going strong.