Virat Kohli will make his impact substitute player debut against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). After sustaining an ankle injury against the Mumbai Indians (MI) on April 12, Kohli didn’t take the field in the second innings. He was subsequently seen practicing with a bandaged knee for the LSG match.
Virat Kohli makes debut as impact player
However, he was expected to be fully fit for the match. Well, it doesn’t seem like he’s recovered. Due to this, he has been forced to eat his words. Moments after winning the Indian Premier League (IPL) trophy last year, Kohli had claimed that he can’t play as an impact player.
“So I look for ways to improve. I cannot play as an impact player. I want to field 20 overs and make an impact in the field. That is the kind of player I have been. And God blessed me with that perspective, with the talent,” Kohli added.
Less than a year later, he has to take those words back. After the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) won the toss and opted to field first at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, captain Rajat Patidar revealed that Kohli won’t take the field. He’ll play and open the batting with Phil Salt, but will be subbed in after the first innings.
Like Kohli, MS Dhoni hasn’t played as an impact sub either. However, the wicketkeeper has yet to play a game in IPL 2026. The other big name, Rohit Sharma, played almost the entire 2025 season as the impact player since he was managing an injury. Others like KL Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav have played as impact subs due to injury as well.
RCB Playing XI vs LSG
Phil Salt✈️, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (c), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Tim David✈️, Romario Shepherd✈️, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood✈️, Suyash Sharma, Rasikh Salam Dar
Impact Subs: Virat Kohli, Venkatesh Iyer, Jordan Cox✈️, Kanishk Chouhan, Mangesh Yadav
