‘Despite being the ultimate alpha, he took a backseat’ – Ravichandran Ashwin hails Virat Kohli’s selfless role in RCB’s success

Former Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin named five individuals he believes played the biggest roles in Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s success, with Virat Kohli featuring prominently because of the sacrifices he made despite being an ‘alpha’ personality. RCB became only the third franchise in Indian Premier League history to successfully defend its title, clinching back-to-back championships in the 2026 season.

While the likes of Kohli, Rajat Patidar, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar served as key pillars of the team, several others made invaluable contributions behind the scenes to help elevate the Bengaluru-based franchise to its current stature. Impressed by the team’s culture and consistency, Ashwin said he would not be surprised if RCB went on to win a third consecutive IPL title, highlighting the strong foundation the franchise has built in recent years.

“RCB can even go on to achieve a three-peat. GT [Gujarat Titans] can be extremely proud of themselves, but for this run chase, I want to credit five people: Andy Flower, Mo Bobat, Dinesh Karthik and his support staff, Rajat Patidar, and Virat Kohli,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

There is no denying how much Kohli thrives in the spotlight. Regardless of the team he represents, he remains the focal point of attention, yet rarely allows the weight of expectations to affect his performances. At RCB, however, Kohli took a step back and entrusted the leadership role to Rajat Patidar following Faf du Plessis’ departure. Ravichandran Ashwin was particularly impressed by Kohli’s willingness to put the team’s interests ahead of his own stature.

“The way Virat Kohli took a backseat-he went to the back of the queue and allowed Rajat to lead, becoming a mentor and a big brother to the team… despite being the ultimate alpha, he still did this. Royal Challengers Bengaluru has been a heartbeat for Virat Kohli. For 17 or 18 years, they didn’t win a single trophy,” said Ashwin.

“This has given all of us a wonderful lesson through the sport and through the IPL: you might not win for 17 years, regardless of how hard you work. But when the opportunity to win arrived in the 18th year, they went all the way and won it. Then in the 19th year, they were the defending champions and successfully became defending champions once again. Now, a hat-trick of titles is also entirely possible if they have a bit of luck,” he added.