68 days. That’s the gap between Virat Kohli’s last competitive match and when he took the strike against Jaydev Unadkat in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 opener between the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).
Ready from the get-go
In between this, Kohli went back to London and practised there, honing his T20 skills. He landed in India exactly 10 days ago. Unlike before, Kohli didn’t need to get into the groove. Last year, midway through the IPL season, he retired from Test cricket.
Kohli confirmed that he has been preparing for the IPL since his hiatus from cricket began and even credited his good form in the ODI format. “It was good to get back out there. You mentioned T20 cricket; yes, the last game was last year. But my ODI form helped me. I have worked hard on my fitness behind the scenes, and it’s great that it’s coming off. I always come prepared, come out 120 percent,” Kohli said after the match.
Due to red-ball cricket, he couldn’t tweak his technique. Kohli had admitted that himself. At his core, the former RCB captain was a red-ball cricketer. Then came 50-over and T20 cricket. Keeping that in mind, Kohli tried to mould his game in the shortest format in a manner that didn’t affect his output in the longest format.
2-month break? No issue, says Virat Kohli
Coming into IPL 2026, he no longer had that restriction. We saw how he performed in ODI cricket after his Test retirement, where his strike rate rocketed. He was sweeping the ball all of a sudden, making changes that one felt he couldn’t make. But all this while, it was his desire to succeed in Test cricket that held him back in T20 cricket.
One felt that wouldn’t be the case anymore. And guess what? Kohli proved everyone right. In his first cricket match in over 2 months, the highest run-scorer in the IPL’s history became the first player to score over 4,000 runs in the second innings. In the process, he scored 69 runs, batting at a strike rate of 181.58 and helping RCB chase a 202-run target in just 15.4 overs.
Most runs in IPL chases
- 4000 – Virat Kohli
- 3285 – David Warner
- 3238 – Rohit Sharma
- 2843 – Shikhar Dhawan
- 2832 – Robin Uthappa
- 2543 – KL Rahul
At 37, Kohli is redefining himself. Reaching a new limit. Smashing the lofty standards that he himself set. One has to see what Kohli has in store for us now that he has given himself the liberty to go berserk.
“I’m not coming back underprepared. In fact, the extra rest helps me to mentally freshen up. And as long as you’re physically fit and excited mentally, all those things come together nicely and then you’re able to contribute to the team’s cause and that’s what you want to do as a player,” Kohli added.
Cricket
Virat Kohli shows no rust, guides RCB to easy victory on competitive cricket return
