The Royal Challengers Bangalore's unboxing event at the M Chinnaswamy stadium on Tuesday saw a massive turnout of fans as the likes of Virat Kohli and Smriti Mandhana made their presence felt on the field and posed for pictures with fans as well.
But the moment of the evening came when Mandhana came on the field with the Women's Premier League (WPL 2024) trophy in her arms.
The men's team and support staff members gave a guard of honour to Mandhana & Co. as they walked out to loud cheers. Former RCB men's team captain Kohli was also a part of the guard of honour for the women's team.
Mandhana's team defeated Delhi Capitals in the WPL 2024 final in the national capital on Sunday to clinch their maiden trophy. The men's team is yet to clinch any silverware for the franchise despite playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) since the very beginning in 2008.
After this, the ladies went around the stadium for their lap of honour to acknowledge and thank the thousands of fans who turned up for the event.
Time for the men's team to perform
The men's team of Faf du Plessis & Co will be opening their IPL 2024 campaign against defending champions Chennai Super Kings at Chepauk's MA Chidambaram stadium on March 22.
Virat Kohli, who joined the squad just a couple of days back after returning home to Mumbai from London, was seen having a good time with his teammates Glenn Maxwell, du Plessis among others at the event.
Kohli has not played any cricket since January this year as he was busy helping his wife through her second pregnancy. Kohli and Anushka Sharma were blessed with a baby boy on February 15, whom they named Akaay.