The upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season is going to be a little more challenging for Virat Kohli, as he has retired from the Test and T20I formats. Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan said that, unlike last season when Kohli was an active batsman across all formats, this season he will be joining the league only as an ODI cricketer, which could pose more challenges for the former captain.
Virat Kohli was a key part of the IPL 2025-winning Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) set-up. As one of the leading run scorers of the tournament, he led the team to glory from the front line. It will be interesting to see how he performs this season after bidding farewell to the Twenty20 International format.
RCB hero Virat Kohli will have to face new challenges
Last season, the batting maestro scored 657 runs in 15 innings while maintaining an average of 54.75 and striking at 144.71. With eight half-centuries, he emerged as the most consistent batsman for Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2025.
Speaking on the YouTube channel, Irfan Pathan highlighted that the dynamics will be different for Kohli as he will be joining RCB to play in the T20 format after a long break.
Kohli will start IPL 2026 after the break
Irfan Pathan said on his YouTube channel, “This time things will be a little different for Kohli. He will be playing IPL for the first time after completely retiring from Test cricket. He is playing only one format. It is not easy for anyone. But he has scored runs and his performance has been excellent.”
He also said, “Even when he comes after the break, it has not been difficult for him in one-day cricket. In T20, when you play as an aggressive player and come after not playing much, it will be challenging. But he has faced many challenges before. I am very excited to see how he will progress this season.”
Virat Kohli and RCB are identities that go together: Irfan Pathan
The former Indian cricketer said that Virat Kohli has been a constant part of the team since the beginning of the Indian Premier League. For Pathan, the fans of Virat and RCB are now symmetrical. The Delhi-born former captain of the team, he faced many difficult situations throughout his career and overcame those obstacles to move forward. In this IPL campaign, Pathan hopes to see him shine again with the red and black.
“Virat Kohli and RCB are an identity that goes together. He started with RCB and is still playing for them. He has performed brilliantly. It was a golden phase of his career when he captained the team, there were many brilliant performances. When they won the last season, his strike rate also increased. He did not play the role of an anchor, but an attacking one. That was a huge factor. They will hope that he maintains the same form this time too, Pathan said.
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