As RCB fans line up white-jersey tribute, it's business as usual for Virat Kohli

It began like a ripple, as many things do on social media these days. The idea floated by a small group of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) fans was to pay tribute to Virat Kohli in the wake of his retirement from Test cricket last week.

A call went out for fans to wear the white Test jersey, in which Kohli built so much of his legacy as an India player, to welcome him during RCB's IPL 2025 match against Kolkata Knight Riders on Saturday. Within a few hours, the plea snowballed into a movement, filling timelines and fan forums. But with all that virality, there's also been some pushback over the past couple of days, with several fans questioning the practicality of the idea.

The argument is that a sea of white in the stands might interfere with the visibility of the white ball on the field, turning the tribute into a distraction. But on the eve of Saturday's clash, which restarts IPL 2025, those concerns hardly seemed to matter. At least not outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Hawkers had transformed the footpaths along the periphery of the stadium into a makeshift marketplace, quick to cash in on the nostalgia wave. Many of them had set up shop in front of police personnel who seemed unperturbed as replica India Test jerseys flew off the tarpaulins they were stacked on.

It seemed as if the street vendors had been quick to tune into social-media sentiment, stacking huge piles of tribute whites atop the RCB jerseys that usually make brisk business on match eve. While the Kohli 18 was the undisputed bestseller, there were a few Rohit 45 and Dhoni 7 knockoffs too.

There's awareness of this trend within the RCB camp. "It's not something we've thought about or talked about too much," Mo Bobat, RCB's director of cricket, said when asked if swathes of white in the stands could impact their catching. "I've certainly noticed that the fans have been talking about that a little bit, but I don't think it'll have much of an impact on our play."

Bobat was effusive in his praise for Kohli's ability to absorb the emotions of the last few days while still being able to compartmentalise and keep his focus on the task at hand. "The first thing to say is Virat's just business as usual, as he always is," Bobat said. "There's enough of the public and the nation's attention on him, he doesn't want any more of that.

"He just wants to get on with his business. He's usually ambitious about what we can achieve this year with RCB and that's what he does. He should be incredibly proud of what he's done as a Test player for India. RCB as a franchise, we are all incredibly proud of what every one of our players does in India this year, but in particular him.

"I can also talk from my previous role as an Englishman working in the English system. He was someone you never wanted to play against, he was always the batter you wanted to get out. You knew that if he was either in the pavilion to come or at the crease, you were in trouble."

Drawing from his own experience in various roles in English cricket, Bobat recalled how Kohli's presence always loomed large.

"Some of my fondest memories watching Test cricket involve him. I'll never forget the 2018 India series in England, the Test at Edgbaston, watching Jimmy Anderson and him do battle like two gladiators. That's what he's about, he's about those special moments, those inspiring moments. He did that as captain, as a player, we're all really proud of him. I'm sure the fans will show him lots of love this week when they see him again.

"Just to go back to where I started, he's business as usual, we all are. He's spoken to a few of us about things in the last few weeks, but you know what he's like, he's pretty clear on what he wants to do."