New Delhi: Virat Kohli believes periodic breaks between assignments helps him operate at his optimum level as he began IPL 2026 with a seamless 38-ball-69 in Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s six-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the tournament opener.
It was Kohli’s 28th IPL half century that was ornamented with five boundaries and as many sixes in what was his first 20-over match since RCB’s win in the final of the previous edition last year.
“Well, you know, the kind of scheduling that we’ve had over the last 15 years and the amount of cricket I’ve played, for me there was always a risk of getting burnt out rather than being undercooked. So these breaks helped me immensely. I stay fresh, I stay excited,” the former RCB skipper said.
For the right-handed top-order batter, thorough preparation before taking on the field is important as he doesn’t wish to take things for granted.
“Whenever I come back to play, it’s 120%. I’m not coming back, you know, underprepared. In fact, the extra rest helps me to mentally freshen up,” the 37-year-old said.
“As long as you’re physically fit and you’re excited mentally, all those things come together nicely and then you’re able to, you know, contribute for the team’s cause and that’s what you want to do as a player. You don’t want to hold on to a spot.
“You want to keep performing and, you know, keep putting in the work for the team,” he added.
With RCB chasing a 202-run target, opening the batting in a T20 game after a year would not have been an easy proposition but Kohli said playing in ODIs for India in between helped him maintain rhythm.
“It was good to get back out there. You mentioned T20 cricket. The last game I played was the final last year but I think the way I batted in the one-day series quite recently really helped me to stay in that same kind of momentum,” the former India skipper said.
“I wasn’t playing shots that I don’t usually play so I knew as long as I have the rhythm and I’ve put enough work physically behind the scenes with my fitness, things should come together nicely and tonight was another chance to start strong and to build on this.”