One year and one day after announcing his retirement from Test cricket and hanging up his white Indian shirt, Virat Kohli proved that there is still plenty left in the tank. With an unbeaten century to help Royal Challengers Bengaluru ease through a chase against KKR, Kohli didn’t look many miles off from his best – even at 37 years old, continuing to time the ball with precision, and running his runs with ferocity.
In IPL 2026, Kohli has shown glimpses of a level that is simply impossible to achieve without focus and commitment, which can only be achieved at the highest level of the game when there is a true love of the art to support it. Speaking after helping RCB back to the top of the table, Kohli said as much – an understanding and appreciation of where he finds himself, two decades into his pro career, continues to drive him forward.
“Well, I just love batting, even after all this. You know, that’s my core feeling. Look, what an honour to be playing at this level. What an honour to be competing with the very best in the world still,” said Kohli after his match-winning knock in Raipur.
“This is all I’ve done all my life. Cricket is absolutely something that I truly love. And I just give my heart and soul out there on the field, whether I’m fielding or batting, because it’s going to finish one day,” he stated. Kohli is on track for a fourth consecutive season of 500+ runs in the IPL – something only two other cricketers have managed, and something Kohli himself in his prime years fell short of.
Still trying to be a better player
The lack of Test cricket still remains as stark as ever: even though his form against the red ball was dipping and he was not the same monster he once was, India have missed his presence in that team. Having retired from T20Is as well, he remains in the ODI setup, where he is enjoying one of his finest spells of a long and glittering career in the 50-over game.
How does he keep it going? A mature head on his shoulders, and an understanding of his role within the RCB setup – it’s not that he isn’t still a leader, but without the pressure of captaincy, he can allow his energy and personality to do the talking, with the man himself remaining as charismatic as ever.
“And I want to make the most of every day that I’m on the field and just enjoy myself and have a lot of fun and look forward to a pressure situation, look forward to scenarios where I’m feeling a bit of heat,” he explained. “And then I challenge myself to say, you know what, just go for it. And when you cross the line, it makes you a better player. And sport, as you know, teaches you a lot as a person as well. So you build your character slowly and surely when you keep performing under pressure.”
Feeling the ball in the middle of the bat still the thing
At the end of the day, all of that goes quiet when he appears with bat in hand. Particularly in the midst of a tricky chase – such as the target of 193 on a surface with something for the bowlers, with a couple of crucial early wickets – Kohli always looks like he is on an island of his own making. A quick one here, a quick two there, a boundary perfectly in the gap, and increasingly, the power to hit it over the top. That, for Kohli, remains the best feeling in the world.
“And for me, even after all these years and numbers and whatever you said, it’s still the love for the game. I just love hitting the ball in the middle of the bat. And that joy is still there. And it’s all God’s grace. And I’m very thankful and grateful,” concluded the great batter, trying to take his team to back-to-back wins in the IPL.
