The upcoming edition of the <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/photo/ipl-2026-from-rohit-sharma-to-jasprit-bumrah-here-are-top-mumbai-indians-players-to-watch-out-for-ahead-of-season-110234/1" rel="nofollow">Indian Premier League</a> (IPL) is all set to kick off from March 28. So far, the schedule of only first 20 matches has been released due to state elections.
Ahead of the league, Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) stalwart Virat Kohli has started practising in the nets.
The team clinched the elusive title in the previous edition and will be looking to defend its title this year.
Kohli, who has three back-to-back seasons with 600-plus runs, will be looking to have another big campaign. His contributions will be crucial for the Bengaluru-based franchise.
In the last season, Virat scored 657 runs in 15 innings at an average of 54.75 and a strike rate of 144.71, with eight fifties to his name, finishing as the team's leading run-getter and third-highest run-getter overall.
<a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/photo/ipl-2026-royal-challengers-bengaluru-jitesh-sharma-set-to-complete-1000-runs-in-the-league-110237/1" rel="nofollow">RCB</a> shared a post on its official social media handle, in which the right-handed batsman is seen showcasing big hits.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
? in action. ? This is Emmvee presents RCB Shorts.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PlayBold?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc-Etfw">#PlayBold</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/&#37&#37&#37&#37&#37&#37&#37&#37ź&#37&#37&#37?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc-Etfw">#ನಮ್ಮRCB</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IPL2026?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc-Etfw">#IPL2026</a> <a href="https://t.co/kNdDrD4ACp">pic.twitter.com/kNdDrD4ACp</a>
&mdash; Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) <a href="https://twitter.com/RCBTweets/status/2034942181497348437?ref_src=twsrc-Etfw">March 20, 2026</a></blockquote>

<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" async="" charset="utf-8"></script>

The 37-year-old cricketer is also the leading run-scorer in the history of the tournament. So far, having made 267 appearances in the league, Kohli has smashed 8661 runs, with a top score of an unbeaten 113 runs. He also has eight tons and 63 half-centuries to his name.
Additionally, having made 13,543 runs in 414 T20Is, including nine centuries and 105 fifties, Virat will also be aiming to join West Indies titans <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/article/ipl-2026-cheteshwar-pujara-picks-abhishek-sharma-travis-head-as-more-dangerous-pair-than-virat-kohli-chris-gayle-23620809" rel="nofollow">Chris Gayle</a> (14,562 runs), Kieron Pollard (14,482 runs), England's Alex Hales (14,449 runs), and Australian legend David Warner (14,028 runs) as the fifth member of the 14,000-run club in T20 cricket.
<h2>IPL 2026, Opening match: Date and venue</h2>
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will begin their IPL 2026 campaign by playing a clash against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
Earlier, the Karnataka State <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/article/ipl-2026-ajinkya-rahane-is-kkrs-weak-link-says-former-player-s-badrinath-23621775" rel="nofollow">Cricket</a> Association (KSCA) Secretary, Santosh Menon, confirmed that the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium will host five of the RCB's IPL 2026 home games. The venue will also host one of the play-off matches and the title clash of the tournament.
Bengaluru's remaining two home matches will be played at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium in Raipur, Chhattisgarh.
(With ANI Inputs)

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will begin their IPL 2026 campaign by playing a clash against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru

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Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will begin their IPL 2026 campaign by playing a clash against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru

WATCH: Virat Kohli gears up to defend RCB's title ahead of IPL 2026

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