Virat Kohli Dismisses Claims of Special Travel Requests for IPL 2026

Indian cricket superstar Virat Kohli has refuted reports suggesting he requested chartered flights between India and the UK during the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season. The rumors claimed Kohli, who frequently spends time in London with his family, sought the arrangements to facilitate travel during breaks of more than three days.

Kohli addressed the speculation directly on Instagram, sharing a report detailing the claims alongside laughing emojis, indicating the reports were untrue.

RCB Begins Title Defence

The IPL 2026 season is scheduled to commence on March 28, with the defending champions, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), facing Sunrisers Hyderabad in Bengaluru [1]. RCB secured their maiden IPL title in the 2025 season.

Kohli will be a key player in RCB’s campaign. He currently has 8,661 runs in 267 IPL matches, with eight centuries and 63 fifties. He aims to become the first player to reach 9,000 runs in IPL history. [3]

With 9,085 runs in 282 matches for RCB across IPL and the now-defunct Champions League T20, Kohli is one strong season away from becoming the first player to score 10,000 runs for a single IPL team in all T20 cricket. [1]

Kohli also has 13,543 runs in 414 T20 matches, including nine centuries and 105 fifties, and is approaching the 14,000-run milestone in T20 cricket, a feat currently held by Chris Gayle (14,562 runs), Kieron Pollard (14,482 runs), Alex Hales (14,449 runs), and David Warner (14,028 runs).

Kohli’s Stellar Form

Kohli had an exceptional IPL 2025 season, scoring 657 runs in 15 innings at an average of 54.75 and a strike rate of 144.71. He recorded eight half-centuries and finished as RCB’s leading run-scorer and the third-highest run-getter overall.