Indian cricket superstar and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) icon Virat Kohli has put an end to speculation suggesting he requested special travel arrangements during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season.
Reports had earlier claimed that Kohli, who has been spending considerable time in London in recent years, had asked the RCB management for access to chartered flights between India and the UK. The reports further suggested that he planned to travel back to London during breaks of more than three days to spend time with his family.
However, Kohli swiftly dismissed these claims. Taking to Instagram, he shared one such report on his story along with laughing emojis, making it clear that the rumours were baseless and untrue.
Taking to Instagram, Virat posted one of these reports on his story along with laughing emojis, indicating that these reports are, after all, false.
RCB Begin Title Defence
The IPL 2026 season is set to begin on March 28, with defending champions RCB taking on Sunrisers Hyderabad in Bengaluru. After finally lifting their maiden IPL title last season, Kohli will once again be central to RCB’s campaign. Currently at 8,661 runs in 267 matches with eight centuries and 63 fifties, Virat will also be aiming to become the first player to reach the 9,000 run mark in IPL history.
Having made 9,085 runs in 282 matches for RCB across IPL and now-defunct Champions League T20, Virat is one extraordinary season away from becoming the first-ever player to score 10,000 runs for a single IPL team in all of T20 cricket.
Having made 13,543 runs in 414 T20Is, including nine centuries and 105 fifties, Virat will also be aiming to join West Indies titans Chris Gayle (14,562 runs), Kieron Pollard (14,482 runs), England’s Alex Hales (14,449 runs), and Australian legend David Warner (14,028 runs) as the fifth member of the 14,000-run club in T20 cricket.
Stellar Form Continues
Kohli enjoyed an outstanding IPL 2025 season, scoring 657 runs in 15 innings at an average of 54.75 and a strike rate of 144.71. With eight half-centuries, he finished as RCB’s leading run-scorer and the third-highest run-getter overall.
