IPL 2026: India’s spin great Ravichandran Ashwin has heaped praise on batting mogul Virat Kohli, commending the Indian batting legend's unwavering dedication and unrelenting passion for the game despite retiring from Test and T20I cricket.
Kohli marked his T20 return with a bang, hitting 69 not out off 38 balls to lead Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to a comfortable six-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season opener.
"He walks the talk. It's almost like he's putting on a show for people to see how the game should be played, play it hard and play it the way it's meant to be played. That stood out for me with respect to what Virat did,” Ashwin said on a JioHotstar show.
Kohli's form was already on fire, having scored 93, 23, and 124 in the ODI series against New Zealand earlier this year. The 37-year-old continued this form against South Africa, where he scored 302 runs, including two centuries.
Ashwin underlined Kohli's running between wickets as a testament to his endless energy and intensity, defying his 37 years of age.
"I find him quite bizarre at this age. I tell him this during our chats now and then. He was batting on 40-odd, there was a partnership going on, and RCB were coasting,” added Ashwin.
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"He ran through for the first single, stopped there, and the other batter hadn't even reached halfway, but he was already looking for a second. That was a 57-metre boundary on the leg side, and it shows the enthusiasm he still brings to the game," the spin great said.