The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) won the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 by defeating the Punjab Kings in the Final and ended their trophy drought. This was the first IPL title for RCB, and players like Virat Kohli, who is the face of RCB, badly wanted this trophy before he retired from franchise cricket.
But Kohli’s retirement phase has already started; he retired from Test and T20I cricket, and now, the retirement needle is over ODI cricket. All this led to the question, Will Kohli continue playing in the IPL, or is this his final season in the Indian Premier League?
Kohli has been playing with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru since 2008, which is around 17 consecutive seasons, and he has given everything to this franchise. But, as per the media reports, Virat Kohli refused to renew a “commercial contract” linked to RCB’s branding and promotional activities for IPL 2026.
This led to rumors about his retirement or a franchise change. However, it is pretty much clear that he will not change the franchise, but his retirement might be true. A point to be made clear here is that player contracts are different commercial contracts, so do not believe in quitting the franchise news.
Kohli’s legacy in IPL:
Virat Kohli made his IPL debut in 2008. He is the heart and soul of RCB, like Dhoni is for CSK. Over the years, he has been the leading run-scorer in my seasons and one of the most consistent players in this league. He made a record-breaking 973 runs in the IPL 2016 season, and it is still unbroken.
As a captain, he also did a wonderful job for the franchise, but couldn’t help them lift the trophy. However, they lifted the trophy under the leadership of Rajat Patidar in IPL 2025. RCB is slowly moving towards the next generation, as they also know that Virat Kohli can retire any time soon.
What’s Expected After 2026?
Virat Kohli has already retired from Test cricket and T20I cricket, but the IPL journey is still continuing. Many experts claimed that he will represent RCB atleast two seasons, possibly up to IPL 2027, as his player contract remains active.
He is also willing to participate in the 2027 World Cup, and after the tournament, he will fully retire from International cricket, so chances are very high that he might retire from franchise cricket as well.