Days after announcing his retirement from Test cricket, star Indian batter Virat Kohli arrived in Bengaluru and joined the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) camp ahead of the resumption of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 on May 17.
This marks Kohli’s return to competitive action for the first time since announcing his Test retirement. RCB confirmed his arrival at the team camp through a post shared on ‘X’ (formerly Twitter). Kohli was seen wearing the RCB training kit and sporting a broad smile. Captioning the post, RCB wrote, “The King is back, with a big bright smile! Time to get down to bold business!”
In a 51-second video shared by the franchise on May 15, Kohli was seen entering the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium for a nets session and striking the ball cleanly in his trademark rhythm. The veteran batter looked in fine touch, peppering all parts of the ground with ease. Before the season was suspended for one week, Kohli had hit four successive half-centuries for RCB. He had amassed 505 runs in 11 innings at a stellar average of 63.12 and a strike rate of 143.46.
Rajat Patidar-led RCB have notched up eight wins from 11 matches and currently sit second in the IPL 2025 points table. They are set to face defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders on Saturday, May 17, in what will be Kohli’s first outing since his shock Test retirement.
In a heartfelt tribute to their former captain, RCB fans have called on supporters to wear Test whites for the next home game at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
The IPL 2025 season was earlier suspended due to cross-border tensions between India and Pakistan. With the situation now resolved, the BCCI has announced the tournament’s resumption and released a revised schedule. RCB will feature in the opening fixture of the restarted season, with Kohli expected to light up the Chinnaswamy once again.
The stadium is expected to be packed to the rafters for the high-stakes clash against KKR. Having lost to RCB in the season opener, and with their playoff hopes hanging by a thread, the Knight Riders face a stern test.
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