Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], March 18 (HBTV): Indian cricket icon Virat Kohli, along with Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Devdutt Padikkal, has joined the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) camp ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season.
RCB will begin their title defence against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. With the women’s team currently holding the Women’s Premier League (WPL) title, the men’s side will aim to retain their crown and continue the franchise’s recent success.
RCB shared Kohli’s arrival on social media, hinting at his presence with a promotional post. His jersey number 18 was also spotted displayed at a traffic signal, while fans gathered in large numbers hoping to catch a glimpse of the star batter.
Kohli, the leading run-scorer in IPL history, will look to build on last season’s success, where he finally secured the elusive title. He currently has 8,661 runs in 267 matches, including eight centuries and 63 fifties, and is closing in on the 9,000-run milestone in the tournament.
Across all T20 competitions for RCB, including the now-defunct Champions League T20, Kohli has amassed 9,085 runs in 282 matches. He is also approaching the landmark of 10,000 runs for a single franchise in T20 cricket.
In overall T20 cricket, Kohli has scored 13,543 runs in 414 matches, including nine centuries and 105 fifties. He is within reach of joining the 14,000-run club alongside Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Alex Hales and David Warner.
Last season, Kohli scored 657 runs in 15 innings at an average of 54.75 and a strike rate of 144.71, with eight half-centuries, finishing as the team’s leading run-scorer and the third-highest overall in the tournament.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar has also rejoined the squad, bringing experience to the bowling attack. He picked up 17 wickets in 14 matches last season at an average of 28.41, with best figures of 3/33.
With 198 wickets in 190 IPL matches, Bhuvneshwar is on the verge of becoming only the second bowler to reach 200 wickets in the tournament and the first fast bowler to achieve the milestone. Yuzvendra Chahal currently leads the wicket charts with 221 wickets in 174 matches.
Devdutt Padikkal has also linked up with the team after a strong domestic season. Despite being ruled out towards the latter stages of the previous IPL season due to injury, he contributed 247 runs in 10 innings at an average of 27.44, with a strike rate of 150.60 and two fifties.
Padikkal enters the season in excellent form, having scored 543 runs in six Ranji Trophy matches at an average of 60.33, including a double century in the semifinal against Uttarakhand.
In the Vijay Hazare Trophy, he was the second-highest run-scorer with 725 runs in nine innings at an average of 90.62, including four centuries and two fifties, playing a key role in his team’s run to the semifinals.
He also impressed in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, scoring 309 runs in six innings at an average of 61.80 and a strike rate of 167.02, including a century and two fifties. (ANI)