Bengaluru, March 18 (IANS) India’s talismanic batter Virat Kohli has arrived here in the city to join the defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) ahead of the 19th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), which is set to commence on March 28.

Kohli played a pivotal role in RCB’s title-winning campaign last season, scoring 657 runs at a strike rate of 144.71 and a stunning average of 54.75, including eight fifties. The veteran batter would look to continue the form for the franchise as they will march towards defending the title for the first time.

RCB shared a video of Virat’s arrival on its social media, showing the former captain at the airport and in a cab, with a traffic signal displaying his jersey number 18, with the KGF theme in the background.

“You don’t have to see him… to know he’s coming! Check the calendar. There will be signs, ” RCB wrote in the caption.

Natiezens can contain their excitement, as one fan wrote on X, “The king kohli arrived in his kingdom.”

Another user wrote, “The King has arrived to reclaim his throne once again, and we are all seated to witness him smash the opponents for fun and he could not come at a better day, It’s the 18th day of the month.”

Another user added, “18 march and jersey number 18 is here.” while a fan said, “RCB isn’t complete without the King Kohli.”

Kohli is the highest run-scorer in the history of the tournament; he has scored 8,661 runs from 267 matches at an average of 39.54. The 37-year-old has eight tons, the most for a player, as well as 63 half-centuries. Kohli made his debut in 2008, and since then, he has played for only one franchise.

The former captain recently shared a video of a practice session in London where he was looking in great touch.

Meanwhile, the defending champions RCB will return to their home ground, M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, to play the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 opener against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on March 28 after the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) received official permission from the Government of Karnataka to host the matches.

According to the IPL 2026 first 20 matches schedule released by the BCCI, they will play their next game against five-time winners Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Southern Derby in Bengaluru on April 5. RCB will play two more games in the first phase: contesting against the Rajasthan Royals on April 10 and the Mumbai Indians on April 12 to cap off Phase 1.

RCB’s clash against Rajasthan will happen in Guwahati before they hit the road again to take on Mumbai at the Wankhede.

–IANS

sds/bc