Team India star batter KL Rahul opened up about the 2016 IPL final heart-break with the RCB and how it still affects him and the then-skipper Virat Kohli as well. Having never won the IPL title, RCB were so close to achieving the title. On the back of a dream season by Virat Kohli, where he scored a single-edition record 973 runs, RCB qualified for the final to be played at home in the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

However, the bowling fell apart as the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) amassed 208/7 in 20 overs. In reply, RCB was coasting were at 114/0 in the 11th over with Kohli reaching yet another fifty. However, an untimely collapse saw them score only 86 runs in the final 9.4 overs for the loss of seven wickets and thereby losing the game as well.

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Reflecting on the heart-breaking finish in a conversation on Star Sports, Rahul said, “Virat Kohli and I have discussed the 2016 IPL Final so many times. There is always that reminder that had one of us played a little longer and won that game, it would have been very different. It would have been a fairytale, to be right in the bottom and then win seven games to qualify and go into the final and win the final at home in Chinnaswamy. There wouldn’t have been a better story or better ending.”

Rahul also scored only 11 off nine deliveries in the final as the RCB faced a dip after a sensational start from Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli.

“Most enjoyed playing with RCB (2016),” Rahul concluded. “You get to spend a lot of time at home. I know the Chinnaswamy really well, I have grown up playing on that ground. So I really enjoyed my time in RCB. (On wanting to be back) Yeah, of course. Bengaluru is home and the people there know me as a local Kanada boy so it would be nice to go back there and get an opportunity again. But it’s an auction year so can go anywhere.”