Welcome to RCB: Virat Kohli’s Message to Mohammed Azharuddeen After IPL 2021 Auction

After being bagged by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for a base price of Rs. 20 Lakh in the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL) auctions, youngster Mohammed Azharuddeen received a message from an unknown number, welcoming him to the RCB squad. At the end of the message, it was written ‘Virat Here’. Overwhelmed by the gesture, the latest addition of the RCB squad is on cloud nine and cannot wait to share the field with the Indian cricket team and RCP skipper, Virat Kohli.Lauded as one of the India’s rising talents, Azharuddeen was bagged early by RCB once the name was announced in the IPL auctions and watching the event from a hotel in Bengaluru, the batsman could not contain his joy to represent the city hebelongs to.

Azharuddeen stated that once he was bagged by the RCB, he had received a text message from an unknown number welcoming him to the RCB squad. Well, it turned out to be the RCB skipper. This was his first interaction with the team captain.“Two minutes after the auction, Virat bhai messaged me saying, 'Welcome to RCB, all the best. Virat here.' The message made me very emotional. It’s not something I could have even dreamt of, that he’d message,” Azharudeen was quoted as saying.

The right-handed batsman made headlines for his smashing 54-ball 137* against Mumbai in the Mushtaq Ali Trophy tournament. In domestic T20 cricket, the batsman has a staggering strike rate of 142.27. Azharuddeen has played 22 First-Class matches, 25 List-A matches and 24 T20 cricket matches till date.

Royal Challengers Bangalore did not hold back in this year’s IPL auction as they claimed the services of Glenn Maxwell (Rs. 14.25 crore), Kyle Jamieson (Rs. 15 crore), Dan Christian (Rs. 4.8 crore) and five players at their base price.

RCB skipper Kohli stated that he is happy with the players bought at the IPL 2021 auctions and the team got what they wanted to strengthen and balance the squad. Kohli hopes the ‘new additions’ propel the team in the new season. Here’s what the RCB skipper had to say.

“I just want to say it again, to the best fanbase... We look forward to your support”- Captain Kohli addresses RCB fans and shares his views about the recently concluded #IPLAuction and our #ClassOf2021@imVkohli#PlayBold #WeAreChallengers pic.twitter.com/qUxt9xTVSj

— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) February 20, 2021

"Very very happy with our buys and the results we had in the auction. We got what we wanted for the balance and strength of our squad. We had a really good season last year and we believe that the new additions are going to propel us in the right direction going forward," said Kohli in a video posted by RCB’s official Twitter handle.

• Mohammed Azharuddeen
• Mushtaq Ali Trophy
• RCB
• RCB Skipper
• Royal Challengers Bangalore
• Virat Kohli