Virat Kohli hits powerful strokes in RCB nets ahead of IPL 2026 – Watch

Virat Kohli has joined the Royal Challengers Bengaluru to prepare for the 19th season of the Indian Premier League. He hit the nets for the first time ahead of IPL 2026. RCB, who are the defending champions, will open their campaign against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on March 28 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

He landed in Bengaluru on March 18 and hit the ground running. Kohli was seen hitting shots in the practice session and looked in complete control. The veteran batter went for big shots and took on the bowlers from the start. He also stayed deep in the crease to go over the top, which showed his ability to shift gears when needed.

Wtf is Virat Kohli cooking in nets. Man is Dealing only in sixes 😭😭

Someone really said, 2026 is the new 2016. pic.twitter.com/rSBD0HUkmc

— Selfless⁴⁵ (@SelflessCricket) March 18, 2026

Apart from him, the other big names were also present for the net session ahead of the season. Krunal Pandya, Devdutt Padikkal and Bhuvneshwar Kumar were involved in the proceedings. Captain Rajat Patidar hasn’t joined the squad.

In the previous campaign, Virat Kohli scored 657 runs from 15 matches at a strike rate of almost 145, laced with eight fifties.

Kohli, who is only active in one-day internationals in international cricket, hasn’t played enough games coming into IPL 2026. However, he is renowned for his ability to adapt to the conditions and demands of the game.

In his previous international outings against South Africa and New Zealand, Kohli was among the runs. He amassed 302 runs from three ODIs at an average of 151 and a strike rate of 117.05 against the Proteas. He hit two hundreds and a fifty. In the three-contest series against the Kiwis, he accumulated 240 runs at an average of 80 and a strike rate of 105.26, including a ton and a fifty.

RCB will expect Kohli to bring his A game into the new edition. He will have a key role to play at the top of the batting order.