Ashwin, a former Indian cricketer, is very confident in veteran batter Virat Kohli before the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, in which Kohli is bound to play in Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).
In 2026, Kohli will have a three-month hiatus before making a comeback to competitive cricket after playing an ODI series against New Zealand in 2026. Ashwin is confident that the next season of IPL will see an invincible form of Kohli, who can replicate his historical performance of 2016.
Virat Kohli has had one of the best performances in terms of batting in IPL 2016. He made 973 and this was a record number against 81.08 average and a strike of 152.03. It consisted of four centuries that season and that was a significant contribution towards lifting RCB to the final where they lost at the end of the day to Sunrisers Hyderabad. Over the past few years, Kohli has been incredibly consistent with a total of over 600 hits in the past three seasons of the IPL and averages over 50 in all of them.
“Virat Kohli is sitting in a position of complete peace and blissfulness. He has accomplished a lot of things, has won tournaments, he has now won the IPL as well. He just wants to go after that one more 50-over World Cup. He can go and play freely now,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
“If he comes with an open mindset, he can bat like IPL 2016. The age factor is there. He can definitely go onto repeat it. If he says, ‘Boss, I am just going to let go and have fun’. Even if he makes 300 runs at a strike rate of 170, that is a job done for RCB,” he added.
Notably, AB de Villiers has emphasized Virat Kohli’s immense contribution to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru dressing room. According to the former South African great, Kohli’s influence extends far beyond just scoring runs. Moreover, AB De Villiers highlighted how Kohli’s infectious energy, passion, and aggressive mindset on the field consistently uplift the entire team.
“Virat definitely is still the heartbeat of the franchise. Not only through his performances and the consistency he has achieved with the bat over the years, but also through his presence and the energy he brings to the squad. The way he conducts himself on and off the field, always fighting for the team, stands out. He brings that energy and makes the youngsters believe that they can ultimately go on and win the trophy, which RCB did last year,” de Villiers said on JioStar.
