The Indian Premier League 2026 season will begin on 28th March, with defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru taking on Sunrisers Hyderabad at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Virat Kohli has already started preparations. The RCB star was seen in training, with the franchise sharing clips on X, where he looked in strong touch ahead of the opener.
Kohli, who has crossed 600 runs in each of the last three seasons, remains central to RCB’s plans. His consistency will once again be key as the team begins its title defence.
In a video posted on X, Kohli addressed his teammates with a clear message: “We worked really hard over the last two to three seasons to achieve what we did last year, and it’s only going to get tougher because the other teams are going to come hard at us.”
He added, “We don’t waste these days. We stay ahead. So switch on now. Let’s not waste even a minute of every session we are part of. We must give our 120% for these two and a half months.”
RCB head coach Andy Flower expressed confidence in the squad. “We had an interesting auction. I think we’ve improved our squad, to be quite frank. We brought in some great new additions,” he said.
Looking ahead, Kohli is also closing in on a major milestone. With 8,661 runs in 267 matches, he is set to become the first player in IPL history to cross the 9,000-run mark.
RCB enter the new season with belief, momentum, and their biggest star ready once again.
