Virat Kohli And IPL: A Beginner's Guide

Sometimes, when a player goes on to achieve all-time great status like Virat Kohli has, the frailties of his early days turn blurry. The towering collection of laurels make many forget the uncertain, hopeful eyes of the past that did not know the scale of stardom that lay on the horizon.

Though he joined Royal Challengers Bangalore (now Royal Challengers Bengaluru) soon after leading India to the Under-19 World Cup title in 2008, Kohli did not have a particularly good start to his Indian Premier League (IPL) journey. The then 19-year-old averaged a lowly 15.00 in the opening season at a below-par strike rate of 105.09.

The Delhi lad was prone to impetuosity with his shots, seemingly trying to impress rather than express. Flashes of brilliance stood out nevertheless, with a flying catch at point off Zaheer Khan's bowling still fresh in memory. Kohli later went on to say that he had lost his way a bit, even as he was processing the sudden demise of his father in December 2006.

The next season was not much better: he averaged 22.36 at a strike rate of 112.32. But the youngster had his first brush with an IPL final, which RCB lost to the now-defunct Deccan Chargers. He was to play and lose two more summit clashes (2011 and 2016) in a remarkably arduous road to the crowning glory in 2025.

Today, Kohli stands as the only player to have represented the same franchise in every single IPL season, and is the highest run-scorer in the league's history by far. The path has been replete with the cliched ups and downs, and the growth has been staggering, to say the least, dotted by dizzying heights in the international arena along the way.

Topsy-Turvy Captaincy Period

After rising through the ranks and on the back of a fruitful couple of seasons, Kohli took over the captaincy reins from former New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori in 2013. He amassed 634 runs from 16 games that season but the title stayed well out of reach as RCB finished fifth with 18 points.

The next edition was worse as the team stood seventh, while Kohli scored 359 runs in 14 matches. The year 2015 was the first time RCB entered the playoffs under his leadership, defeating Rajasthan Royals by 71 runs in the Eliminator before falling to Chennai Super Kings in Qualifier 2.

The following season was inarguably Kohli's best with the bat, and perhaps also as captain. He clattered an astounding 973 runs (average of 81.08 and strike rate of 151.03), a tally which still is the record for the most number of runs scored in a single IPL edition. Hitting four hundreds, Virat powered RCB into the final, where they suffered a heartbreaking loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad.

The next three seasons saw RCB's fortunes nosedive spectacularly, underlining the sinusoidal nature of their and Kohli's journey. The team finished last twice (2017 and 2019) in that period before somewhat resurging in 2020 and 2021, where it made the playoffs but could not go further.

Kohli gave up captaincy after the 2021 season, later stating that he "had no belief" and that his "tank was absolutely empty" towards the end of his tenure. The India bulwark finished with a record of 66 wins and 70 losses in 140 games as skipper, apart from a forlorn trophy cabinet.

Redemption After 18 Years

South African cricket legend Faf du Plessis succeeded Kohli as RCB skipper, but that did not change much by way of ending the team's title quest. Du Plessis also had a middling captaincy record, with 21 wins and as many defeats and a third-place in 2022 being the team's best showing under him.

It was the heralding of Rajat Patidar as captain in 2025, the 18th season of IPL, that did the trick for 'No. 18' (jersey number) Kohli. The signs arrrived early. It was a superlative league-phase campaign after which RCB finished in the top two for the first time in nine years.

They went on to lift the ever-awaited trophy at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, beating an inspired Punjab Kings by six runs in the final to turn the perennial 'Ee Sala Cup Namde (This year, the cup will be ours)' chants into 'Ee Sala Cup Namdu (This year, the cup is ours)'. Tears of joy flowed down Kohli's cheeks as the dream he first saw in 2008 was realised after what seemed like an eternity.

He did not think of switching teams amid the title-less run, and he isn't going away now either. Kohli has repeatedly affirmed his commitment to play only for RCB until his retirement, and is gearing up for a successful title defence in the 2026 edition.