May 18, 2025: Former Indian cricketer and commentator Sanjay Manjrekar hailed the heartfelt tribute paid by fans to Virat Kohli during the rain-marred IPL 2025 fixture between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday.
The highly anticipated clash marked the resumption of the 18th season of the Indian Premier League. Despite persistent rain washing out the match without a toss or a single delivery being bowled, fans showed up in large numbers, many donning white shirts as a symbolic nod to Kohli’s illustrious Test career.
The tribute was sparked by a social media campaign urging fans to wear white — the color of Test cricket — in honor of Kohli, who recently announced his retirement from the longest format. Though the stadium remained largely covered in RCB red, noticeable pockets of white in the crowd reflected the fans’ unified gesture.
“The love that the fans have for Virat Kohli, it’s something special,” Manjrekar said during his commentary on JioHotstar.
“This was an IPL night match, and fans came dressed in whites to commemorate a moment in Indian cricket history. That’s a beautiful gesture.”
Reflecting on Kohli’s legacy, Manjrekar — often a candid critic — emphasized the batter’s transformational impact on Indian Test cricket.
“For five years, he made Test cricket watchable and more popular. We often say no player is bigger than the game, but when Test cricket was struggling to engage fans, Virat gave it the attention it desperately needed,” Manjrekar remarked.
During his captaincy tenure from 2014 to 2022, Kohli was known for instilling a new culture of fitness, aggression, and relentless intensity within the Indian team.
“As a captain, I’ve never seen an Indian Test skipper who managed to keep the intensity so high — even when the team wasn’t doing well or when things were drifting. That’s a legacy in itself,” Manjrekar added.
Virat Kohli, who remains active in limited-overs cricket and the IPL, ended his Test career with 9,230 runs at an average of 46.85, including 30 centuries and 31 fifties, making him India’s fourth-highest run-getter in the format.