Kohli Eyes IPL Glory with RCB, Undeterred by Test Retirement
Kohli Eyes IPL Glory with RCB, Undeterred by Test Retirement: Mo Bobat
Virat Kohli, fresh off his Test cricket retirement, remains laser-focused on leading Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to their maiden IPL title in 2025, said RCB Director of Cricket Mo Bobat at a pre-match press conference on Friday.
Despite retiring from Tests on May 12 with 9,230 runs from 123 matches, including 30 centuries, Kohli’s competitive fire burns bright, with ambitions centered on ending RCB’s 18-year title drought. “Virat’s business as usual… He’s ambitious about what we can achieve with RCB,” Bobat stated, dismissing any distraction from public attention.
Bobat, a former England coach, lauded Kohli’s Test legacy, noting his 60% win rate as captain and 9,230 runs as “no mean feat.” Recalling Kohli’s 593-run masterclass in the 2018 England series, Bobat said, “He was the batter you wanted out… Watching him and Jimmy Anderson at Edgbaston was like two gladiators.”
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He expects Chinnaswamy fans to shower Kohli with love during RCB’s May 17 clash against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), despite social media calls for fans to wear Test whites in tribute, which Bobat downplayed: “It won’t impact our play.”
Kohli, retained for Rs 21 crore and reinstated as captain, has scored 505 runs in 11 IPL 2025 matches at a 63.13 average, including two fifties, though he trails Suryakumar Yadav (510) for the Orange Cap.
RCB, under new captain Rajat Patidar per some reports, sits fourth with three wins, bolstered by Kohli’s form and a revamped squad featuring Phil Salt and Josh Hazlewood. Despite a one-week IPL suspension due to India-Pakistan tensions, Kohli’s hunger to surpass David Warner’s 66 fifty-plus IPL scores (Kohli has 63) and reach 13,000 T20 runs (needing 293) fuels optimism for a title run.
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