Virat Kohli has rediscovered himself in white-ball cricket. After a couple of underwhelming years, many former cricketers and experts called him out over poor form, with some claiming that Kohli no longer fits in the shortest format of the game. Since then, the star batter went on to win the Player of the Match in the T20 World Cup 2024 final, finished as the third-leading run-scorer of the IPL 2025 and now, kicked off RCB’s 2026 campaign with a dominating show of unbeaten 69 runs off 38 balls.
He is back to being at his best and after the game against Sunrisers Hyderabad, he shared the recipe behind it. The veteran mentioned that playing cricket for over a decade burnt him and as he retired from T20Is and Test, he is enjoying his off time and is much more relaxed, which is eventually helping him put in that extra effort whenever he plays. The Delhi-born believes that he is physically fit and mentally more excited to get the job done for the team.
These breaks help me mentally: Kohli
“The kind of scheduling that we’ve had over the last 15 years and the amount of cricket I’ve played, for me, there was always a risk of getting burnt out rather than being undercooked. So these breaks help me mentally. I stay fresh, I stay excited. Whenever I come back to play, it’s 120%. I’m not coming back underprepared,” Kohli said in the post-match presentation.
“In fact, the extra rest helps me mentally freshen up. And as long as you’re physically fit and mentally excited, both those things come together nicely. Then you’re able to contribute to the team’s cause, and that’s what you want to do as a player. You don’t want to just hold on to a spot; you want to keep performing and keep putting in the work for the team,” he added.
Meanwhile, the innings also marked Kohli’s 17th 50+ total in the last 33 IPL matches. It shows his sheer consistency in the format and, more importantly, sends a message to the opponents that he is no where close to fade but is ready to dominate the proceedings.
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