One of the standout moments of the ongoing IPL 2026 season has been young Prince Yadav picking up the wicket of Virat Kohli and then crediting the India star for helping him before the game with valuable advice that led to the prized scalp.
Now, in a conversation with Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s in-house media team, Kohli has opened up about why he helps players from rival teams with advice whenever approached.
“You look at my situation. If Yashasvi Jaiswal reaches out to me before we have to play Rajasthan Royals, right? He’s probably looked up to me for a long period of time. Now I’m thinking, ‘He needs help’. Even though he’s going to play against us, it’s one game. But if he plays well for the whole season, eventually he’s going to play for India. So how can I not help him? He might score against us tomorrow or the day after. It’s okay,” Kohli said during an appearance on the RCB Podcast.
“Despite Jaiswal scoring, we should find a way to win. Whatever it is, he might or might not. I’m not saying he would. There’s a possibility he might. So, I naturally can’t go into a space where I say, ‘He needs the help. Do it now.’ He’s going to practice two hours later. He’s probably called me on the way to the game once. So, I’m thinking it’ll help him in a way it can improve his game. He can score some runs, he can have a great season, it can open up things for him.”
WATCHL Virat Kohli speaks on the RCB Podcast
Kohli revealed how he opened up to Prince in a Vijay Hazare game.
“I’m in that space today. If someone asks me something—yeah, Prince bowled a great ball to me and I told him to bowl in those areas. It’s fine. Of course, you know, people because they are so connected to me. I didn’t know Prince at all. On the field he feels like he’s very intense but he’s such a sweet guy and he’s so funny because Ishant Sharma was there as well and Ishant knows him.
“So I got very close to Prince and he opened up really nicely to me. So I was telling him even on those times, even through those Vijay Hazare games, standing at mid-off, covers, whatever—what to do, where to bowl. You have to share experience. You’re not going to be here forever and if people have the opportunity to learn and get better in their careers, eventually who gets helped? If all these guys play well, eventually they play for India. The standard of cricket remains high. You don’t want to see a situation where tomorrow the standards are dropping. If you can help someone to get to their potential best, then their best version will eventually help Indian cricket. That’s the progress I see.”
Kohli also revealed that while he doesn’t advice too often unless asked for, he did help Mohammed Siraj in a game.
“So if Prince asks me something and we have to play them—before playing Gujarat in Bangalore, I spoke to Siraj on the boundary. I told him my observations, how I saw him run in, and you know, it was different to before. And he spoke to me about rhythm. And we’re playing them two days later! So I’m not thinking… I want his best version. I should be able to play his best version; I don’t want him to be at his worst. I actually want him to be at his best so I can compete with him. So that you can compete with the best, right?
“So I am ready for everyone’s best version. And if someone’s struggling, it’s an opportunity for me to help. That’s how I look at it. I don’t do a lot of these post-match social catch-ups, to be honest, in the IPL. But if someone genuinely needs help and they want to talk about the game, I’m always there to help,” Kohli added.
