Virat Kohli: Whenever I come back to play, it's 120%

The RCB batter began his IPL 2026 season with a half-century in a commanding win against SRH

Virat Kohli returned to T20 action with 69 off 38 balls in Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)'s victory against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Chinnaswamy Stadium and said that the time away from the format had helped him return "fresh, excited" and at "120%".

Kohli's last T20 was the IPL 2025 final, which RCB won to end their wait for a maiden IPL trophy, and they began their title defence by chasing down a target of 202 in 15.4 overs. Kohli remained unbeaten in the chase.

"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," Kohli said after the game. "So these breaks helped me immensely. I stay fresh, I stay excited. 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. And as long as you're physically fit and you're excited mentally, both 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."

Kohli entered the IPL after scoring 93, 23 and and 124 in three ODIs against New Zealand in January. He was India's top-scorer in that series, and also in the preceding ODI series against South Africa in December, when he made 302 runs including two centuries.

Against SRH, Kohli hit five fours and five sixes, and finished the chase by going 6, 4, 4, 4 against Harshal Patel in the 16th over. He said that despite not having played a T20 since June last year, his performances in the recent ODIs helped him "stay in that same kind of momentum".

"I wasn't playing, you know, shots that I don't usually play," he said of his knock against SRH. "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 yeah, tonight was another another chance to start strong and to build on this."

RCB's next fixture is another home game against Chennai Super Kings on April 11.