Former India and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) star Suresh Raina has made a bold statement on Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) icon Virat Kohli ahead of the start of IPL 2026 starting from March 28 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
After enduring years of pain and finally lifting the IPL trophy in 2025, Royal Challengers Bangalore are entering IPL 2026 with fire in their eyes. The long wait is over, but the real challenge begins now. Winning once was historic, but winning again will be a tough challenge.
Suresh Raina backs Virat Kohli’s hunger to take RCB forward again
Before IPL 2026 begins, Suresh Raina said that he feels Virat Kohli will come into this season with a clear goal, and that is to ensure that no one calls RCB’s title win the story of one season. The former CSK star believes that Virat Kohli’s hunger will drive the entire team forward.
Also Read: “Ryan Parag is not established” – Aakash Chopra reveals Rajasthan Royals’ biggest issues
Suresh Raina said on Star Sports, “As soon as Virat Kohli reaches the Chinnaswamy Stadium, his first question will be, ‘Which players will raise their hands? We have to defend this title.’ This is the mentality. he [Virat Kohli] Currently playing only ODI; He is not playing T20I or Test. Will he tell Chinnaswamy Stadium that this was not a fluke on our part? Kohli will say, we worked very hard for this.
Cricket pundits believe that RCB now has the kind of strong setup that title-winning teams usually have and they also have the experience.
Strong Indian core and organized batting order gave RCB a boost
This gives the team more calmness, more confidence and more strength in moments of pressure. Raina also feels that RCB’s batting unit looks organized and dangerous.
Raina further added, “They already have 7-8 players who have played for India. When CSK won back-to-back in 2010 and 2011, we also had a similar setup, where 7-8 players had played for India. RCB’s squad is very strong now; they have brought in Venkatesh Iyer. Devdutt Padikkal is in great form; he is scoring a lot of runs. The best thing about it is that he has a systematic batting order.”
Well, Royal Challengers Bangalore will play five matches at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, while the two home matches will be held in Raipur. After the terrible stampede during the celebrations, Bengaluru Stadium has officially got approval to host the matches again.
More drama added to RCB’s sales race ahead of new season
The defending champions will begin their campaign at home against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on March 28. Specifically, the franchise is up for sale, and the process has now reached the final stage. There is competition between only two strong giants to buy RCB.
Is a large Swedish investment firm. The second group includes leading investors from the US and Singapore as well as Ranjan Pai, a well-known name in the healthcare industry. Some other famous names had also shown interest earlier, but have now dropped out of the race.
Also read: Irfan Pathan tells about 3 players including Rajat Patidar who can become a headache for RCB in IPL 2026