Star batsman Virat Kohli began his preparations for the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) season by attending the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) training session at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. During the nets, Kohli took on Bhuvneshwar Kumar, creating a match in the team ahead of the new season.A video of the session showed Bhuvneshwar hitting Kohli with a yorker that almost hit the stumps. Another clip showed Kohli replying with a six off the same bowler.RCB go into the season as the defending champions after winning their first IPL title in 2025. The Rajat Patidar-led team ended their long wait for the trophy by defeating Punjab Kings in the final. The franchise now aims to build on that result, with the men’s team looking to match the success achieved by the RCB women’s side. RCB will open the 19th edition of the IPL on March 28 against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. It will host five of their home games this season. The side will rely on their experienced group including Kohli, Bhuvneshwar and Devdutt Padikkal as they look to start their campaign strongly.Bhuvneshwar is expected to play a key role, especially in the death overs. He has taken 17 wickets in 14 matches since joining RCB ahead of the 2025 season. His economy rate was 9.29 while his average was 28.41.Kohli comes into the tournament after a strong run in international cricket, although he currently only plays ODI cricket for India. The 37-year-old recently scored 302 runs against South Africa and 240 against New Zealand. He scored three centuries in those six matches and maintained a higher strike rate.
