Indian Premier League 2024

'Don't worry king, Agale saal cup namde' - Fans react as Virat Kohli pens down emotional note to thank supporters after RCB's heartbreaking exit from IPL 2023

Virat Kohli penned an emotional note thanking RCB fans after their heartbreaking exit from the Indian Premier League 2023.

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Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli (Source: Twitter)

Virat Kohli Virat Kohli (Source: Twitter)

Despite starting the season as one of the strong title contenders, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) had an inconsistent run in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, which resulted in their heartbreaking exit from the 16th edition of the league. In a must-win game against Gujarat Titans (GT), Virat Kohli gave his side hope with a record-breaking century, but the defending champions outclassed the hosts to deny RCB a play-off spot.

Kohli was seen sitting heartbroken in their dugout after the loss, as would be the case for RCB fans who have been waiting for their team to lift the coveted title for the past 16 years. However, after their final IPL 2023 match on May 21, the RCB team, including Kohli, did a lap of honour to thank their loyal fans at the Chinnaswamy Stadium for their support throughout the season.

The former RCB captain was spotted interacting with a few GT players and also handing Rashid Khan a signed jersey before waving to the crowd as he bid farewell to the season. Following this, Kohli took to his social media handle to post an emotional message. The 34-year-old expressed his gratitude to RCB fans for their overwhelming support and also thanked the coaching staff and the management.

“A season which had it's moments but unfortunately we fell short of the goal. Disappointed but we must hold our heads high. To our loyal supporters, grateful for backing us every step of the way," Kohli wrote in his tweet. "A big thank you to the coaches, management and my teammates. We aim to be back stronger," he added in the comment section.

We don’t deserve to be in the playoffs: Faf du Plessis

Meanwhile, reviewing their performance in the entire season, RCB skipper Faf du Plessis made an honest confession that they failed to perform as a unit and did not deserve to make it to the playoffs. The South African lauded Kohli and Glenn Maxwell Mohammed Siraj for their fantastic efforts, but pointed out that despite a few individual performances, they did not excel as a team.

“It is disappointing that our season ended here, but we had some real positives in the form of Maxi this year. Virat was incredible. The partnerships between me and Virat were incredible and that consistency was remarkable,” said du Plessis.

“Siraj had a great campaign. There were also areas where we were consistently not great. If we look at ourselves, we will be honest in saying that we weren’t one of the best teams in the competition. We were lucky that there were some really good performances throughout, but as a whole, we don’t deserve to be in the playoffs. We tried hard tonight but fell short,” the 38-year-old added.

Here's how fans reacted to Kohli's emotional tweet: 

 

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