
Virat Kohli during practice ahead of IPL 2026 start. (Photo Credits: X)
India and RCB batter Virat Kohli is back in action and has started the IPL 2026 edition with a brilliant knock against Sunrisers Hyderabad. The defending champions began the title defence on a positive note and will now be taking on Chennai Super Kings in their fixture at home on Sunday.
In a video posted on Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s official X account, Kohli has opened up about the chatter that goes around him shifting to London and fans often saying that RCB now play with “Five” overseas players.
Host Danish Sait, in his popular Mr Nags avatar, quipped, “People are saying RCB are playing five overseas players, I am not understanding what they are saying actually.”
Kohli, with a half smile on his face, replied, “I don’t know, why are you asking me? Ask the overseas players. I am not an overseas player. Am I an overseas player?”
The Royal Challengers Bengaluru finally lifted the IPL trophy in the last edition. The flamboyant batter opened up about the win and what it felt to finally lift the cup.
“I had heard of this statement or this saying, four years, monkey off the back. That night I really felt what it means. Everything became light,” Kohli said.
“Victory is the accumulation of hard work, all the sacrifices you’ve made, to be committed to the sport. It all comes together as a form of assurance, a reward, to know that you haven’t wasted your time. A lot of people learn from losses, but a lot of people can get very disheartened as well. So when you win after a lot of hard work, it makes you feel a sense of justice to the work that you put in, and also gives you motivation to work harder,” Kohli said.
Virat Kohli has shifted base to London and only travels to India for the List A matches and the Indian Premier League. The right-handed batter has retired from T20Is and Tests. The move has certainly drawn criticism on social media from the fans.
Virat Kohli has been in sublime form in the white-ball formats in the recent past. While he had a couple of forgettable outings on his Australia tour, Kohli made a resounding comeback with an unbeaten half-century to conclude Tour Downunder and followed it with two hundreds on the trot against South Africa and a fifty at home.
Kohli also returned to play Vijay Hazare Trophy for Delhi and struck a brilliant hundred and a fifty in the two matches that he played. The run feast didn’t stop here as Kohli got out in 90s in one match against New Zealand and ended the three-match series with a ton.
The right-handed batter’s purple patch continued in IPL 2026 as he kicked off the season with a 38-ball 69 against SRH.
Covering sports for fun. Cricket in whites remains the first love—the kind that teaches patience, rewards nuance, and tells stories over five days rather than five seconds.
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