IPL 2023: Virat Kohli Pauses A Bit To Acknowledge Roar From Chinnaswamy Crowd After Winning Toss Against KKR, Video Surfaces

RCB vs KKR: Virat Kohli paused for a while before announcing his decision at the toss.

Kohli won the toss amid a loud roar at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on Wednesday. ( Image Source :IPLT20/BCCI )

Even though Virat Kohli is no longer the designated Royal Challengers Bangalore captain, the ex-skipper has had to step in as a leader owing to a rib injury to Faf du Plessis which makes the South African unfit to field. With the Impact Player rule in place in the IPL this season, that has meant that RCB have been able to use Du Plessis' services with the bat but is Kohli who has led them in their last three matches including their ongoing contest against the Kolkata Knight Riders at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

There is no doubt that Kohli is one of the most popular players in international cricket and is widely regarded as one of the best batters in the world. His craze in Bangalore, the only franchise he has represented in the IPL, is unparalleled and the same was evident when he won the toss against KKR on Wednesday. The crowd gave a massive roar and Kohli had to wait for a while for the cheer to decline a bit before he continued to talk to Ravi Shastri at the toss.

"We have decided to bowl first. Obviously, it's a no brainer. Evening game at Chinnaswamy, we've chased well here. So chance to put the batsmen under pressure with the new ball. Our powerplay bowling has been unbelievable. So just another chance to do the same things that we have done really well in the last couple of games. It was unexpected but nothing I'm not used to (stand-in captaincy). It's been fun so far because of the way the team has been playing. Faf will be playing the impact role again. Hopefully he'll be back leading from the next game. Looks like a great pitch, the usual Chinnaswamy pitch that we expect," Kohli said at the toss after the initial wait.

🚨 Toss Update 🚨@RCBTweets win the toss & elect to field first against @KKRiders.

Follow the match ▶️ https://t.co/o8MipjFd3t #TATAIPL | #RCBvKKR pic.twitter.com/uSRkTWuzxQ

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 26, 2023

Meanwhile, KKR have decided to open with Jason Roy and Venkatesh Iyer, which is now their sixth opening pair this season in what is their eighth game.