‘Other teams are going to come hard at us’ – Virat Kohli warns RCB teammates ahead of IPL 2026

Indian batter Virat Kohli is looking forward to the new season of the IPL as the Royal Challengers Bengaluru enter into the 2026 season as defending champions.

The Royal Challengers Bengaluru lifted their maiden IPL trophy in 2025 by beating the Punjab Kings in the final by six runs in Ahmedabad. Kohli was RCB’s highest run-scorer last season, with 657 runs in 15 games. Coming off the back of three back-to-back 600-plus run seasons, he would be looking to fire on all cylinders for his team. 

“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 the other teams are going to come hard at us,” Kohli said, in a video posted by the Royal Challengers Bengaluru on X (formerly twitter).

“We don’t waste these days. We stay ahead. So, switch on now. Let’s not waste even a minute of every session we are part of. We must give our 120% for these two and a half months. I can see from everyone’s faces that we are excited enough to be challengers,” he added.

Coach Andy Flower praised the franchise’s work in the auction, with new additions to the squad. RCB signed high-profile all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer for INR 7 crore, along with ample Indian and overseas depth options. Flower is excited at the challenge of integrating these new players into the team. 

“We had an interesting auction. I think we’ve improved our squad, to be quite frank. We brought in some great new additions. Integrating those players into the RCB way, alongside some of the established names led by Virat and Rajat, is an exciting part of building a new team together,” Flower said.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru will kick off their title defence against the Sunrisers Hyderabad on March 28, at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.