Virat Kohli regained the Orange Cap in style as Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) beat Gujarat Titans (GT) in their IPL 2026 encounter on Friday. Kohli’s knock of 81 off 44 balls powered the win, and while his dependability has been a constant throughout his IPL career, the standout feature this season has been the tempo he brings to his innings. His current strike rate in IPL 2026 is 163.18, and if he continues at the same pace, it would represent the highest seasonal strike rate of his IPL career.
That change in gears has also sparked plenty of analysis, with former India cricketer and commentator Sanjay Manjrekar pointing to a more selfless, team-first role for Kohli. In his view, Kohli’s success is rooted in the belief that the rest of the RCB batting unit can deliver, allowing him to play with greater freedom rather than feeling he must do everything on his own. Manjrekar said Kohli has “stopped believing that he’s the one batter who’s got to do it for RCB,” adding that the captain has taken a step back and effectively delegated more responsibility.
Manjrekar further explained the difference by contrasting RCB’s current batting setup with earlier editions when the side’s fortunes often leaned heavily on the brilliance of Kohli and AB de Villiers. “Earlier, when AB de Villiers and Virat were the two big batters,” he said, “by accident or by design, Virat would consume a lot of balls per innings.” The former commentator argued that the present RCB has more dependable contributors across the order, which changes how Kohli’s innings unfolds.
In the same breath, he cited the impact of players coming into the contest and spending meaningful time in the middle. “Now, at RCB, people like a Devdutt Padikkal, a Rajat Patidar, a Tim David— a lot of useful contributions are coming from down the order,” Manjrekar noted, “because they’re getting the opportunity to come in and spend some time in the middle.”
The statistics, too, align with Manjrekar’s argument. At the halfway stage of RCB’s IPL 2026 league campaign, Rajat Patidar has struck 238 runs and Devdutt Padikkal has 208, with both batter’s tallies coming across seven matches. Tim David has added 183 runs at an average of 91.50, reinforcing the idea that RCB’s batting depth is no longer reliant on one or two individuals to carry the load.
Manjrekar then tied everything back to Kohli’s evolving approach. He suggested that RCB’s title-ready form this season could be linked to the fact that Kohli—batting at the top—has placed a lower price on his wicket and has become more comfortable trusting teammates to take the innings forward. “I’d like to believe that RCB won the title and are looking really good this season because someone like Virat, who bats at the top of the order, is just not putting as huge a price on his wicket and has started trusting the batters to come a little more,” he said.
With their first IPL championship secured in 2025, RCB have continued that momentum into 2026. They are currently positioned second in the points table after seven matches, having won five times, and look well set to return to the playoffs once again.
