The Evolution of Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Until 2024, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) were a team that had consistently been a part of the Indian Premier League (IPL). They had reached the finals on three occasions, but each time they came up short. In 2016, RCB were in a strong position to win the title, needing 209 runs to beat Sunrisers Hyderabad in the final. Virat Kohli, who was then the team captain, saw his side go from 114/0 to 194/7 in just nine overs. Despite this dramatic collapse, the team lost by eight runs, leaving fans heartbroken at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Since taking over from Daniel Vettori at the end of the 2012 season, Kohli was seen as the hope for the team to finally lift their first IPL title. Over the next nine years, the best performance came in 2016, while the 2017 and 2019 seasons saw the team finish at the bottom of the table. It was hard to imagine a team with stars like Chris Gayle, Shane Watson, KL Rahul, AB de Villiers, and Yuzvendra Chahal losing the finals in front of their home fans. However, it happened.
In 2021, Kohli stepped down from the captaincy after the team was knocked out in the playoffs. Faf Du Plessis took over, but the results didn’t improve. The team made the playoffs in 2022 and 2024, but finished sixth in 2023. Eventually, Du Plessis stepped down, and Rajat Patidar took over as captain.
A New Era for Virat Kohli
It wasn’t that Kohli wasn’t scoring runs when he was the captain. In fact, during the 2016 season, he scored 973 runs, including four centuries. Since Patidar took over, the team management has made changes, and Kohli has found a new lease of life. It seemed as though Andy Flower, Dinesh Karthik, and Mo Bobat advised him to forget the pressure and enjoy the game.
In the last two seasons, Kohli has scored 1332 runs from just 31 games, with one century and 13 fifties. His strike rate has also improved significantly. At one point, the entire load of the team was on his shoulders, but now the team is no longer dependent on him.
Team Dynamics and Leadership
The likes of Phil Salt, Venkatesh Iyer, Devdutt Padikkal, and Patidar himself have taken on more responsibility in terms of run-scoring. For example, even after scoring two successive ducks, the team didn’t crumble in IPL 2026. With support and clear thoughts, Kohli was able to come back to form and score a century against KKR.
A Shift in Leadership Style
Since 2025, the team management has made the 37-year-old a key part of decision-making, but now there are multiple voices contributing to the strategy. Jitesh Sharma, behind the stumps, has played a crucial role in DRS calls and other aspects of the game. Meanwhile, Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are leading the bowling attack, and they don’t need to rely on their former skipper for guidance or wait for things to happen.
The current RCB unit is different from previous ones. Each member is expected to think independently. Unlike past teams where players waited for their iconic number 18 to make decisions, the current setup encourages collective thinking.
A Reinvigorated Virat Kohli
After scoring his fastest fifty in the league, Kohli remarked during a post-match interaction that it was a fun challenge to reinvent himself. The “Virat Kohli 2.0” version is proving to be exciting for fans, and everyone is wondering how far this version will take the team in the 2027 season.
