Virat Kohli has returned to training ahead of the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) season. The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) star will be hoping to take his side to a second-consecutive title after winning their first honour last season, beating the Punjab Kings in the final.
Kohli posted a reel on his social media platform about making his first comeback to the nets and striking some beautiful shots with a brand new bat. The iconic right-handed batter shared a shot clip on Instagram with a very simple caption:
“IPL 2026 ⏳”
Despite returning to training ahead of the IPL season, the batter was seen wearing his India gear during the net session.
The full video can be seen below:
It is worth mentioning that Kohli has not played a professional game since India’s ODI series against New Zealand in January. In his last appearance, the former skipper scored a brilliant 124 in Indore. Despite his best efforts, India went on to lose the game by 41 runs and suffered a 2-1 series defeat.
The RCB, meanwhile, will be hoping for Kohli to replicate his outstanding form he showed whilst playing for India in the winter. The 37-year-old was his side’s highest and the tournament’s third-highest run-scorer during the 2025 IPL season. The top-order batter scored 657 runs at an average of 54.75 whilst striking at 144.71.
Kohli also made a healthy contribution in the showpiece final in Ahmedabad. He was his side’s leading run-getter, scoring 43 off 35 balls before being dismissed by Azmatullah Omarzai in the 15th over. RCB put 190 on the board in the first innings and would win the final by six runs.
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Kohli is the tournament’s leading runs-scorer with 8,661 runs, having played all 18 seasons since 2008. He is currently more than 1500 runs ahead of second-placed Rohit Sharma.
