It was not fluke, we are an amazing side: Virat Kohli on RCB

Dubai: Royal Challengers Bengaluru star batter Virat Kohli maintained that the team’s first-ever Indian Premier League title win last season was far from a stroke of luck.

The defending champions begin the IPL 2026 season against Sunrisers Hyderabad on March 28.

In a video released by RCB, Kohli said the level of competition in the tournament, saying, “Because the league has become so much more competitive, we must have played really good cricket to get to the finals. It is not a fluke, it is not by chance. We have beaten some really good teams, and we are an amazing side who have earned the right to be here on this day. All in all, it was an amazing night for all of us,” he said.

Kohli shared that reaching the final brought him a “sense of calm confidence”, though the closing stages of the match proved mentally challenging. Reflecting on his long association with the franchise, he said, “I have been here since day one, and so has Mane (Team’s masseur Ramesh Mane) Kaka. We are probably the oldest members of the RCB group, and to be very honest, when we reached the finals (against Punjab Kings), I felt a sense of calm confidence.”

Despite that belief, Kohli admitted he never expected an easy contest, noting it would not be a “cakewalk”. He added, “It is a final, and there is another team that has played really, really well to get there and obviously beaten a lot of good sides, so they are also very confident of what they want to do.”

Describing the final moments, Kohli said, “It was quite surreal for me honestly, quite unbelievable when it was all unfolding in the end. So many things flash in front of your eyes. The whole journey for 18 years, all the ups and downs, all the good moments, bad moments, it’s like the accumulation of all of that is unfolding in front of you, and that is going to happen in the next 10 minutes. It is a very difficult thing to explain, it is a thing to experience.”

He concluded by recalling the tense finish: “And that experience I will never ever forget. And especially the last over, where you know the game is sealed, hoping that Josh (Hazlewood) does not bowl a no-ball, which he never does. So there was a quiet confidence but still as I said you are hoping for the perfect result. So knowing that the game is beyond them and then to wait for those last three balls was probably the toughest part of the night.”

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