Virat Kohli Dismisses Rumors of Demanding Special Treatment from RCB Ahead of IPL 2026

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) star Virat Kohli has refuted recent reports claiming he made significant demands from the franchise ahead of the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) season. The reports alleged Kohli requested chartered flights between India and London, and the ability to return to London during gaps in the match schedule.

Kohli addressed the rumors on his Instagram story, posting a picture of the claim alongside two laughing emojis, effectively dismissing the reports as false.

RCB’s 2026 Campaign Begins March 28th

RCB will kick off their 2026 IPL campaign against the Sunrisers Hyderabad on March 28th. The team, led by Rajat Patidar, enters the season as the defending champions, having won their first IPL title in 2025 with a victory over the Punjab Kings.

Kohli’s Pursuit of IPL Records

After securing his first IPL title in his 18th season with RCB, Kohli will aim for another strong performance with the bat. Currently, he has 8,661 runs in 267 IPL matches, with eight centuries and 63 fifties. He is targeting several milestones this season:

• 9,000 IPL Runs: Kohli aims to become the first player to reach 9,000 runs in IPL history.
• 10,000 Runs for RCB: 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.
• 14,000 Runs in T20 Cricket: Kohli is also aiming to join an elite group of T20 batsmen – Chris Gayle (14,562 runs), Kieron Pollard (14,482 runs), Alex Hales (14,449 runs), and David Warner (14,028 runs) – in the 14,000-run club.

Last season, Kohli scored 657 runs in 15 innings at an average of 54.75 and a strike rate of 144.71, including eight fifties, finishing as RCB’s leading run-scorer and the third-highest run-getter overall in the league. Times Now News