Royal Challengers Bengaluru are entering the IPL 2026 from unfamiliar ground. For years, they were the franchise mocked for falling short despite carrying some of the tournament’s biggest names. That tag finally disappeared in 2025, when RCB broke through for their first IPL title. Now comes the harder part: defending it.
That reality framed the mood at RCB’s first training session of the new season at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, where Virat Kohli delivered a pointed message to the squad. The warning was simple: winning the title once has changed nothing unless RCB are ready to match that hunger all over again, because the rest of the league will now come at them harder.
“We worked really hard over the last two to three seasons to achieve what we did last year, and it’s only going to get tougher because the other teams are going to come hard at us,” Kohli was heard saying in a video uploaded by the franchise on their social media.
The statement, the warning and the inspiration in that statement defined RCB’s new position. Last season, they were chasing a breakthrough that had eluded them for 17 years. This time, they walk in as champions, with a target on their back and expectations that will be heavier from the first game itself. Kohli’s words, delivered to a small group largely composed of Indian squad members, were meant to ensure the shift is understood immediately.
“We don’t waste these days. We stay ahead. So, switch on now. Let’s not waste even a minute of every session we are part of. We must give our 120% for these two and a half months. I can see from everyone’s faces that we are excited enough to be challengers,” he added.
