{"id":567285,"date":"2026-05-05T11:17:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T11:17:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/567285\/"},"modified":"2026-05-05T11:17:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T11:17:09","slug":"virat-kohli-youre-one-of-the-ogs-virat-kohlis-heartfelt-tribute-for-rcb-stalwart-evan-speechly-watch-cricket-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/567285\/","title":{"rendered":"Virat Kohli: \u2018You\u2019re one of the OGs\u2019: Virat Kohli\u2019s heartfelt tribute for RCB stalwart Evan Speechly &#8211; Watch | Cricket News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <img src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/virat-kohli.jpg\" alt=\"\u2018You\u2019re one of the OGs\u2019: Virat Kohli\u2019s heartfelt tribute for RCB stalwart Evan Speechly - Watch\" title=\"Virat Kohli with former RCB head physio Evan Speechly. (Video grab)\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/>Virat Kohli with former RCB head physio Evan Speechly. (Video grab) NEW DELHi: Royal Challengers Bengaluru bid an emotional farewell to one of their longest-serving members as former head physio Evan Speechly\u2019s 18-year association with the franchise came to a close, marking the end of a significant chapter in the team\u2019s journey.Speechly, who served RCB from 2008 to 2025, returned to Bengaluru for a special farewell organised by the franchise. The event brought together players and support staff, offering a rare moment to celebrate the contributions of a figure who worked tirelessly behind the scenes through multiple eras of the team.Leading the tributes was <a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/sports\/cricket\/player-profile\/virat-kohli\/3993\" styleobj=\"[object Object]\" class=\"\" commonstate=\"[object Object]\" frmappuse=\"1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Virat Kohli<\/a>, who shared a deeply personal message reflecting on his long-standing bond with Speechly. The former RCB captain, who has himself been synonymous with the franchise for almost two decades, highlighted not just Speechly\u2019s professionalism but also his human qualities.\u201cI\u2019ve probably spent the most amount of time with you in the RCB setup. You\u2019re one of the OGs. Apart from your hard work and professionalism, the thing that will always stand out is your kindness, care, and integrity. That\u2019s something I\u2019ll always carry with me,\u201d Kohli said.In an emotional continuation, Kohli added, \u201cTo say that you\u2019ll always be a part of this family, you always have been, and you always will be. We\u2019ll remember you fondly forever.\u201dWATCH: RCB\u2019s Director of Cricket Mo Bobat also underlined the importance of Speechly\u2019s presence within the setup, emphasising that the farewell was a tribute to years of dedication.<\/p>\n<p>Poll<\/p>\n<p>Do you believe RCB will miss Evan Speechly presence?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvan has been our lead physio for a huge amount of time. We wanted to bring him back to recognise his contribution, spend some time with him, and celebrate everything he\u2019s done for RCB,\u201d Bobat said.Clearly moved by the gesture, Speechly expressed his gratitude and reflected on his deep connection with the franchise. \u201cWhen I walked into the hotel yesterday, it felt like coming home. So many of us have been here a long time, and RCB has always felt like family,\u201d he said.\u201cEveryone in world cricket would love to spend even one season here, I\u2019ve been fortunate to have had 18. I\u2019ll always feel a part of RCB,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Virat Kohli with former RCB head physio Evan Speechly. (Video grab) NEW DELHi: Royal Challengers Bengaluru bid an&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":567286,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[1721,194193,194285,194284,17779,24790,174718,47712,101,56,54,55,15624],"class_list":["post-567285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cricket","tag-cricket","tag-evan-speechly","tag-farewell-tribute","tag-head-physio","tag-ipl","tag-rcb","tag-royal-challengers","tag-royal-challengers-bengaluru","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-virat-kohli"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/567285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=567285"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/567285\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/567286"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=567285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=567285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=567285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}