India batter Virat Kohli on Sunday dismissed rumours around making “big demands” to Royal Challengers Bengaluru, including claims that he sought chartered flights between India and London during the upcoming IPL 2026 season.
The speculation stemmed from a social media post, which Kohli himself shared on his Instagram story, alleging that he had placed two major conditions before the franchise. One, access to chartered flights between India and London; and two, permission to visit his family in London whenever there was a gap of three or more days between matches.
“Virat Kohli’s big demands: According to reports, Kohli had asked RCB management for chartered flight access between India and London. If there’s a gap of more than three days between matches, he plans to fly out to London and return just before the next game,” the post read.
Kohli, however, brushed aside the claims with a characteristically light response — posting just two laughing emojis on his Instagram story, effectively shutting down the chatter.
Fresh off leading RCB to their maiden IPL title last season, ending an 18-year wait, Kohli has already returned to the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium to begin preparations for the new campaign.
Addressing the squad ahead of their first training session, the 35-year-old stressed the importance of maintaining the intensity that powered their title-winning run.
“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 other teams are going to come hard at us,” Kohli said.
Emphasising urgency from day one, he added: “We don’t waste these days. We stay ahead. So, switch on now. Let’s not waste even a minute of any session that we are a part of. We must give our 120 per cent for these two and a half months.”
RCB will begin their IPL 2026 campaign with a home fixture against Sunrisers Hyderabad on March 28.
The franchise also strengthened their squad at the auction, bringing in players like Venkatesh Iyer, Jordan Cox, Mangesh Yadav, Vicky Ostwal and Satvik Deswal.
