Former India opener Virender Sehwag has made an interesting comparison between Virat Kohli’s wait for winning the first IPL trophy and Sachin Tendulkar lifting the ODI World Cup in 2011. “Kohli’s wait to win the trophy for only 11 years. Sachin Tendulkar waited from 1989 till 2011. So, Kohli’s wait for lesser, and still even Sachin never lost hope. He had made up his mind, he would only bow out with a World Cup trophy in his hand,” Sehwag told Cricbuzz.Sehwag also emphasized that after retiring from Tests and T20Is, Kohli will be a relieved person.
“It’s the same for Virat Kohli. Now, he can be relieved. He can happily stop playing IPL whenever he wants to make that decision. A player plays to win the trophy. Money comes and goes, but winning trophies isn’t easy. And even as Kohli’s wait ended, he has still made a very strong contribution in their campaign,” said Sehwag.Kohli finished the IPL 2025 with 657, the most by a RCB batter. e averaged 54.75 while scoring with a strike rate of 144.71.Hundreds of thousands had packed the streets Wednesday to welcome home their hero Kohli and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) after they had beaten Punjab Kings a day earlier in a thrilling Indian Premier League final.But the euphoria of the vast crowds in the southern tech city of Bengaluru ended in disaster.Who’s that IPL player?Karnataka state Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said most of the 11 dead were young people and there were 47 others injured in the crush after a stampede near the city’s M. Chinnaswamy cricket stadium, where the players were parading the trophy for fans.Kohli, who top scored in the final, said earlier it had been “as much for the fans” after the 36-year-old finally celebrated winning the IPL at his 18th attempt.Later, Kohli wrote on social media: “At a loss for words. “Absolutely gutted,” he added, alongside a statement from the RCB team saying they were “deeply anguished” at what had unfolded.
