Virat Kohli, the India and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) talisman, is a darling for the cameras. He is constantly followed, and every move of his is dissected, whether during a game or a training session. However, the 37-year-old is not a fan of close monitoring, as he wants the players’ privacy respected. He opened up about not being comfortable with cameras filming players as they have conversations on the sidelines of an Indian Premier League (IPL) game, saying there needs to be some streamlining of the footage the teams’ social media units capture during training sessions.
Kohli, who recently hit his 9th IPL century, said it is not easy to focus on training while knowing the cameras are filming his every move, adding that players need freedom to practice their skills and do the needful to prepare to the best of their ability for a game.
“You walk to practice, and you have six cameras following you. It’s not a comfortable feeling at all. As a sports person, you need the ability and the freedom to work on your game in peace. If everything you do is an opportunity to film or display or to dissect, then you are not being organic,” Kohli said on the RCB Podcast.
“I’m not going to be able to try to do things at practice which I really want to do because I know tomorrow if someone films it and there are discussions on my practice sessions. You judge me on my performances during the game, not during the leadup. No one has the right to judge me on what I’m doing in terms of my preparation, the things I’m trying in the nets,” he added.
The leading run-scorer in IPL history also added that the social media game is getting a bit too much, and the need of the hour is to streamline it so that players also feel at ease.
“I just feel like there has to be a bit more streamlining in terms of understanding how much to do, when to do, is the player okay with being filmed at all times. Those kinds of things really need to be taken into account because it gets too much. I love the pressure of the game, but I honestly don’t love the pressure of anything else. Like social media is a huge part of the commercial representation or the fan engagement for any team, which is understandable,” Kohli said.
“But I genuinely feel like there has to be a bit more streamlining, because if you look at the growth of the official fan clubs or the official fan pages of teams, it has taken place after a long period of time when the IPL was already in play. So it’s not a thing that people were ready for from day one,” he added.
Kane Williamson example
Kohli also gave an example of his interaction with Kane Williamson on the sidelines of the IPL 2026 game against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), revealing how the cameras were constantly around, and he also highlighted the role of the Champak robot used by the IPL organisers.
“I was talking to Kane the other day, and there’s that robot thing just waving at me. And I am like, ‘Why is this thing waving at me?’ I’m talking to Kane about something so serious. First, I ignored the dog, and then I told the man controlling it, please take him away. Let me talk in peace. Kane’s my friend. I can’t have a conversation with him without it becoming a ‘moment’,” said Kohli.
Speaking of Kohli, the right-hander has been in fine form in the IPL 2026 season, scoring 484 runs in 12 matches at an average of 53.78 and a strike rate of 165.75.
