Virat Kohli fires ‘It’s going to get tougher’ warning as RCB gear up for IPL 2026
Royal Challengers Bengaluru kick off their IPL 2026 title defence on March 28 against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Virat Kohli, fresh from practice, urged his team to maintain intensity for another successful campaign. Head coach Andy Flower expressed confidence in the squad, while Kohli eyes becoming the first to score 9,000 IPL runs.
IPL 2026 is set to begin on March 28, with defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru taking on Sunrisers Hyderabad at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Ahead of the opener, Virat Kohli has already hit the training ground, with clips of his fluent strokeplay from practice sessions doing the rounds on social media and generating excitement among fans. The former India captain heads into the season on the back of three successive 600-plus run campaigns and is expected to once again play a pivotal role in RCB’s title defence.
— RCBTweets (@RCBTweets) In a video shared by the franchise on X, Kohli was also seen addressing the squad, urging them to maintain intensity and build on last season’s success. "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," Kohli said. "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. I can see from everyone's faces that we are excited enough to be challengers. " RCB enter the new campaign as reigning champions after clinching their maiden title in 2025, when they edged past Punjab Kings by six runs in the final in Ahmedabad.