As the excitement builds for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, which kicks off on March 28, only the first 20 matches of the schedule have been released due to state elections. Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) star player, Virat Kohli, has already begun his training in the nets, gearing up to defend the title that RCB clinched last season. Kohli, who has impressively scored over 600 runs in three consecutive seasons, is poised for another standout performance this year. Last season, he amassed 657 runs in just 15 innings, boasting an average of 54.75 and a strike rate of 144.71, making him the team’s top scorer and the third-highest run-scorer in the league overall. RCB recently shared a thrilling video of Kohli demonstrating his powerful hitting skills on social media.
🐐 in action. 🥶
This is Emmvee presents RCB Shorts.#PlayBold #ನಮ್ಮRCB #IPL2026 pic.twitter.com/kNdDrD4ACp
— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) March 20, 2026
At 37, Kohli stands as the leading run-scorer in IPL history. With 267 matches under his belt, he has racked up an impressive 8,661 runs, including eight centuries and 63 fifties, with a high score of 113 not out. Furthermore, with 13,543 runs in 414 T20 internationals, he aims to join the ranks of Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Alex Hales, and David Warner in the elite 14,000-run club in T20 cricket.
RCB will kick off their IPL 2026 journey against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the iconic M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. The Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) Secretary, Santosh Menon, confirmed that the stadium will host five of RCB’s home games this season, along with one playoff match and the tournament’s final. Additionally, two of their home matches will take place at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium in Raipur, Chhattisgarh.