We wanted to focus on RCB - Virat Kohli on the team's clarity after winning IPL 2026
When RCB stepped onto the pitch this year, there were alarms about whether they could get themselves rolling with the same intensity and vigour. Coming back to the yard from a title-winning year and eventually setting goals for the following season needs a lot of clarity and most importantly understanding of the team goals.
Winning the Player of the Match for his incredible knock in the grand finale, Kohli highlighted how the team came together in planning the season. He shed light on structured goals and highlighted the fact that ever since the word go, RCB never wanted to think about other teams. VK also clarified on the collective strength flexed by the Royal Challengers with different players standing out at different times.
Shedding light on the razor sharp focus of the side, Kohli said, "Absolutely. I mean, the first target was to finish top of the table. We achieved that. And then after that, it was just about… you know, a lot of people asked us, who do you prefer in the finals? And we said, it doesn’t matter for us. We don’t care what jersey is in front of us. We are playing great cricket. We want to focus on RCB and not the other teams."
He further added, "We don’t poke any other team. We’re very happy to carry on playing professional cricket. We have a lot of mature players in the group, a lot of experienced guys, and the experience always shines through in difficult situations. You can have all the excitement and slam-bang in the world, but come the big situations, you need the big boys to step up. And that’s exactly what we did."
Underlining the team strength, Kohli stated, "Absolutely. I mean, even tonight, I know it’s a chase and they probably look to get me out early, but I was very confident that even if I get out early, we have a champion team that’s going to finish the job, you know, three or four overs to go. So when you have that kind of confidence, you can go out there and really take the bowlers on. And I think that’s credit to the management, the way they stacked up the squad, the talent of the players, the belief that the players have shown."
He concluded by saying, "And we stand here champions back-to-back, which is a special feat. That’s exactly what Mo Bobat said when we won last year, that it’s not the end of the road. We’re going to look to go back-to-back. And that’s exactly what we ended up achieving. So we’re really proud of us as a team."
