Virat Kohli waited for only 18 years, Sachin Tendulkar's wait was even longer: Sehwag
Former India cricketer Virender Sehwag compared Virat Kohli's wait to win an IPL trophy with Sachin Tendulkar's long wait for an ODI World Cup title. Kohli's long-standing dream of winning the IPL was recently fulfilled as Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) beat Punjab Kings (PBKS) by six runs in the final of the Indian Premier League 2025 (IPL 2025).As a result, RCB won their maiden title after 18 years and finally ended their long drought. Recently, Sehwag compared Kohli's long wait with Tendulkar and mentioned how the legendary batter waited even longer to achieve his World Cup dream.advertisement'His (Kohli) wait to win the trophy for only 18 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 added that Kohli can be 'relieved' and retire without regrets, whenever he decides to make the decision.'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,' added the former opener.advertisementKohli played a pivotal role in RCB's title triumph, being the third-highest run-scorer of the tournament with 657 runs from 15 innings at an average of 54.75 and a strike rate of 144.71 with eight fifties. His highest score of the season came against Punjab Kings as his unbeaten 73* (54) helped his team to chase down 158 in 18.5 overs.On the other hand, Josh Hazlewood finished as the highest wicket taker of the tournament 22 wickets from 12 innings at an average of 17.54 and an economy of 8.77. RCB scripted a complete team effort in their triumphant run as nine different players won the Player of the Match award throughout the season to end their drought.
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