IPL 2026: Virat Kohli pressure gone? AB de Villiers speaks about why RCB are now title favourites

Former RCB and South African batting legend AB de Villiers believes Virat Kohli will feel much less pressure this IPL season because Royal Challengers Bengaluru now have a strong group of players ready to fight and win.

RCB will defend their maiden IPL title (won last season after 18 long years) when IPL 2026 starts. Virat remains one of the most important players in the team.

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“Virat can feel that, he can sense that he is not the only one carrying the load anymore,” former RCB batter de Villiers told JioStar.

“He has a squad of fighters around him, all gunning to win the trophy. I think they are in a really good place. It’s a similar squad, they didn’t have to change much, and they have good reason to believe they can go all the way again this coming season,” he added.

Kohli’s work ethic will keep him sharp

AB said even though Virat has been on a break since mid-January, he will come into IPL 2026 fully prepared.

“He has the best work ethic I have ever seen in my life. He will not come into the tournament undercooked. If he doesn’t play well, it will purely be down to form or maybe a technical error,” de Villiers said.

RCB can win multiple titles now, AB’s big belief

AB feels RCB are now in a strong position to become regular title challengers.

“You will remember him (Kohli) speaking about it often in the dressing room, ‘If we can win one, we are going to win two, three, four quickly.’ I truly believe that. I feel RCB are in that zone now where they can go bang, bang, bang… perhaps two or three trophies in a row,” he said.

Anil Kumble: Don’t be surprised if Kohli brings new shots

Legendary India spinner Anil Kumble also backed Virat and said he might surprise everyone with new shots this season.

“Don’t be surprised if he comes into this season with a different outlook, perhaps trying something like the scoop shot or the reverse scoop,” Kumble said.

“We have seen AB de Villiers do that consistently over the years, and Virat could add that to his batting repertoire as well. Great players like him are constantly looking to evolve, improve, and challenge themselves.“

RCB’s opening fixtures

RCB’s first match is against Sunrisers Hyderabad on March 28 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru (evening game, 7:30 PM IST).

Next up, they host Chennai Super Kings in a big home clash.

After that, RCB will face Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians in their early away games.

RCB home ground details

This season, RCB will play two matches in Raipur as part of their away-from-Bengaluru venues. They have five home games scheduled at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

Here’s the RCB full squad for IPL 2026:

Rajat Patidar (c), Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, Devdutt Padikkal, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Josh Hazlewood, Krunal Pandya, Tim David, Swapnil Singh, Romario Shepherd, Jacob Bethell, Venkatesh Iyer, Satwik Deswal, Mangesh Yadav, Vicky Ostwal, Vihan Malhotra, Kanishk Chouhan, Jordan Cox, Rasikh Dar, Suyash Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Nuwan Thushara, Abhinandan Singh, Jacob Duffy, Yash Dayal.