Virat Kohli has turned out for just one Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise for 18 years. Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) is synonymous with the icon. The veteran also managed to win the maiden IPL trophy with the franchise. However, reports of him retiring from IPL have circulated ahead of IPL 2026 season, despite the 36-year-old rejecting a commercial contract with the team before the 19th season of IPL. Amid swirling rumors, Aakash Chopra has assured RCB fans that the star player will not leave the franchise.
Virat, known as RCB's local boy, has received a tremendous amount of love and adulation from the Chinnanswamy faithful for close to two decades. The right-hand batter has also cited a desire to end his IPL career from where it all began with RCB 18 years ago.
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“He has reportedly refused a commercial contract, but what does that mean? He will definitely play for RCB. If he is playing, he is definitely going to turn out for the same franchise,” Chopra said.
Chopra further stated that commercial contracts are separate from retention contracts with all teams. The 36-year-old is always the first retention by RCB ahead of every mega-auction cycle and is likely to be first on the list of IPL 2026 auction.
“He (Kohli) has just won the trophy. Why will he leave the franchise then? He isn’t going anywhere. What contract can be refused is in the realm of speculation. He might have a dual contract,” he added.
Virat Kohli legend of IPL & heartbeat of RCB
Notably, Kohli is the highest run-scorer in IPL history, becoming the first batter to get to 6000, 7000, and 8000 runs. In 267 games, the right-hand batter has scored 8,661 runs with 71 50+ scores. In the last IPL 2025 season, the icon scored 657 runs in 15 games at a phenomenal average of 54.75. The 36-year-old also holds the record for the highest run scored in a single IPL season - 973 runs in the IPL 2026 season.
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Kohli has often tweaked his game and adapted to the team's demands and needs in the IPL. In the last four seasons, the batter has started to attack from the outset and given RCB blazing starts. Before the aggressive batting, he used to play an anchor role for the team. Besides batting, Kohli is also a vital member of RCB's core leadership group.
