• Source:JND

IPL 2026: IPL 2026 kicks off March 28, with reigning champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru facing Sunrisers Hyderabad in their opener at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Ahead of the first match, star batter Virat Kohli has started training, with viral social media clips showcasing his impressive batting. Entering the season after three consecutive 600+ run campaigns, the ex-India skipper aims to help RCB defend their title.

RCB took to its official X account and posted a video in which Kohli is seen talking to the whole team, encouraging the side to play aggressively and try to repeat the heroics of the last season.

"We worked really hard over the last two to three seasons to achieve what we did during the last year, and it's only going to get tougher because the other teams are going to come hard at us," Kohli was heard as saying in the video.

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"We won't waste these days. We stay ahead. So switch on now. Let's not waste even a minute of any session we're part of. We must give our 120% for these two and a half months. I can see from everyone's faces that we are excited enough to be challengers," he added.

The Rajat Patidar-led side will aim to defend their title this season, after their first trophy win last year, defeating the Punjab Kings by six runs in the summit clash at the Narendra Modi Stadium.

Andy Flower, the head coach of RCB, is confident in the team's performance and has backed both young talent and core players, emphasizing the leadership of captain Rajat Patidar and the guidance of senior player Virat Kohli.

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"We've had an interesting auction. I think we've improved our squad, to be quite frank. We brought in some great new additions. Integrating those players into the RCB way, alongside established names led by Virat and Rajat, is an exciting part of building a new team together," Andy Flower said in the video.

Kohli himself is on the verge of achieving another personal milestone. The star batter has scored 8,661 runs in 267 IPL matches, including eight hundreds and 63 fifties. He is close to becoming the first player in the tournament's history to score 9,000 runs.

 

 

 


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