Indian cricket superstar and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) icon Virat Kohli has put an end to speculation about him requesting special travel arrangements during the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) season.
It was earlier reported that Kohli, who has spent considerable time in London in recent years, had requested a charter flight between India and England from the RCB management. Reports further suggest that he plans to return to London to spend time with his family during his three-plus day break.
However, Kohli was quick to dismiss these claims. He shared a report on his story on Instagram, along with a laughing emoji, making it clear that the rumors were baseless and untrue.
Virat posted one of the reports on his story on Instagram along with a laughing emoji, indicating that the reports were fake after all.
RCB starts defending title
The IPL 2026 season will kick off on March 28 with defending champions RCB taking on Sunrisers Hyderabad in Bengaluru. Kohli will once again be at the heart of RCB’s campaign after finally winning the IPL title for the first time last season. Virat, who currently has 8,661 runs in 267 games with 8 centuries and 63 fifties, is aiming to become the first player in IPL history to reach the 9,000-run mark.
Virat, who has scored 9,085 runs in 282 games for RCB in the IPL and the now-defunct Champions League T20 competition, is a remarkable season away from becoming the first player to score 10,000 runs for an IPL team in all T20 cricket.
Virat, who has 13,543 runs in 414 T20Is, including 9 centuries and 105 fifties, also joins West Indies giants Chris Gayle (14,562 runs), Kieron Pollard (14,482 runs), England’s Alex Hales (14,449) in targets matches) and Australian legend David Warner (14,028 matches), becoming the fifth member of the T20 cricket club to have 14,000 matches.
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Stellar form continues
Kohli performed well in the 2025 IPL season, scoring 657 runs in 15 innings at an average of 54.75 and a strike rate of 144.71. With eight half-centuries, he became RCB’s leading run-scorer and third-highest run-scorer.
