Virat Kohli's aura bigger than ‘a footballer in public at home’: RCB star Will Jacks shares surreal experience

Royal Challengers Bengaluru star Will Jacks shared his views on the aura Virat Kohli has in India as he played alongside the batting maestro this season. Jacks played a crucial role in RCB's big turnaround in IPL 2024 as the franchise reached the playoffs despite a horrible start to the season. However, the Englishman returned home early and missed the playoffs due to his international commitments.

Jacks, a rising star in English cricket, got the opportunity to bat alongside Kohli on multiple occasions as they also shared a match-winning unbeaten 100-run plus partnership against Gujarat Titans where the former slammed a ton. Kohli praised the hard-hitting batter for his batting prowess in the past on a couple of occasions.

Meanwhile, the England star opened up on Kohli's aura, which he witnessed during IPL 2024, and said it's bigger than a footballer in public at home.

"When he (Kohli) first walked in and I first met him, that was surreal. Seeing his aura, how people look at him, the following… even if you see a footballer in public at home, it's not like that. It's eye-opening. Everywhere we go - all the airports, every street - the support is incredible," Jacks said on ESPN Cricinfo.

Kohli is one of the biggest sporting icons across the globe and has over 260 million Instagram followers - the third highest for an athlete after Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

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Virat was like, 'I don't want to face any balls: Jacks

Meanwhile, Jacks slammed his maiden IPL century this season vs GT at Narendra Modi Stadium, where he ripped apart the bowlers once he got settled in the middle. Jacks and Kohli shared an unbeaten 166-run stand for the second wicket as RCB won the match by 9 wickets.

The Englishman revealed the chat he had with Kohli in the middle during that stand.

"Once I got my fifty, Virat was like, 'I don't want to face any balls - keep going.' When Mohit Sharma came on [in the 15th over], that was my match-up. I was going to take him down there, because I'd faced him for three or four balls before and I'd got a good eye of him. I knew that was my time, and after that there was no reason to stop," he added.

The young star further stated that he was surprised by the fanbase of RCB despite having a bit of idea about it.

"Everyone told me their (RCB) fans were the best but now I've seen how crazy it is… I kind of expected it, but it obviously still takes you by surprise," he concluded.