IPL 2026: Virat Kohli has a team of fighters: AB de Villiers backs RCB to defend crown
Former South African batsman AB de Villiers has backed Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to win consecutive Indian Premier League titles. last year, RCB ended the wait of 18 years by defeating Punjab Kings Lost by six runs in the final at Narendra Modi Stadium.
De Villiers, who played 11 seasons for RCB from 2011 to 2021, said that the team is no longer overly dependent on Virat Kohli. He said that Kohli can have his place, as RCB now has many players who are capable of performing well consistently.
“Virat can feel it, he can understand that he is not the only one carrying the burden anymore,” de Villiers told JioHotstar.
He added, “They have a team of fighters around them who are ready to win trophies. I think they’re in a really good place. It’s a very similar team, they don’t need to make too many changes, and they have good reason to believe they can make a run again this coming season.”
RCB strengthened their team by signing Venkatesh Iyer for Rs 7 crore and Mangesh Yadav for Rs 5.2 crore in the IPL auction. They added Jordan Cox for Rs 75 lakh, Jacob Duffy for Rs 2 crore, and young talents Satwik Deswal, Vicky Ostwal, Vihaan Malhotra and Kanishk Chauhan for Rs 30 lakh each.
‘Not two, even three’
De Villiers praised Kohli’s mentality, saying that RCB now has the momentum to win multiple trophies in a row, which shows Kohli’s confidence in converting one win into multiple wins in a row.
“You remember he (Kohli) would often speak about it in the dressing room, ‘If we can win one, we will soon win two, three, four.’ I really believe in that. I think RCB are in that zone now where they can explode, explode… maybe win two or three trophies in a row,” de Villiers said.
Last month, the RCB women’s team won their second Women’s Premier League (WPL) title by defeating Delhi Capitals in the final. The men’s team now has a chance to achieve a double feat by defending their IPL title this year.
RCB will begin their title defense on Saturday, March 28Ishan Kishan against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
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