Virat Kohli has credited the relentless rise of fearless young cricketers for pushing him to evolve his game, saying that modern T20 cricket demands constant reinvention — even from the most decorated players. Speaking at the post-match press conference in Ahmedabad on 1 June, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) captain reflected on a landmark night: guiding his side to a second successive IPL title while remaining unbeaten and hitting the winning runs himself.

A Dream Final for Kohli

Kohli described the finish as the realisation of a long-held ambition. 'It's the stuff that you dream of. I've thought of this moment many times, that, you know, once when we win the IPL, I should be standing there hitting the winning runs and tonight it was possible. So yeah, just a dream day for us,' he said.

The final also saw Kohli register the fastest half-century of his IPL career in his 19th IPL season — a milestone that underscored how far he has pushed his own boundaries in the format's twilight phase of his career.

How Young Players Are Forcing Veterans to Evolve

Kohli was candid about the pressure that a new generation of aggressive batters has placed on established names. 'Such is the demand of the sport today. You have these super young players pushing you all the time and really asking you to change your game and up the ante. And it's an exciting situation because it gives you something to improve on, something to work towards,' he said.

He stressed that the adjustment was primarily mental rather than technical. 'It was just a case of the demands of today's modern game where you need to get those 20, 30 extra runs. I had to change my mindset, not my game so much to hit the shots I hit, but more often and take the bowlers on — probably the best bowlers in the opposition. That was always my target,' Kohli explained.

RCB's Title-Winning Blueprint

RCB entered IPL 2026 with a clear two-stage objective: finish top of the table first, then focus solely on their own cricket in the knockouts. 'A lot of people asked us, who do you prefer in the finals? And we said, it doesn't matter for us. We don't care what jersey is in front of us. We are playing great cricket,' Kohli said.

He pointed to squad depth as a key differentiator throughout the campaign. 'Even tonight, I know it's a chase and they probably look to get me out early, but I was very confident that even if I get out early, we have a champion team that's going to finish the job,' he noted. Kohli credited management and players alike for building a group capable of sustaining back-to-back success — a feat he described as 'special'.

The Venkatesh Iyer Partnership

Kohli revealed that his partnership with Venkatesh Iyer at the top of the order was built on a simple, direct conversation. 'Simple chat to Venky in the change room. I just told him one thing: we need to kill the game in the power play. And he said, yeah, let's go. So it was total clarity,' Kohli said.

The pair's shared intent to attack from the first ball ensured RCB stayed ahead of the required rate throughout the chase. Kohli credited Iyer's aggression as a decisive factor in the team's final few matches. 'His intent was probably the difference maker for us in the last three or four games,' he added.

RCB's Fan Base: 'We Don't Have Seven Home Games — We Have 14'

Kohli reserved special praise for RCB's supporters, who turned Ahmedabad — nominally a Gujarat Titans home — into what felt like a partisan RCB crowd. 'GT is probably the home side, but you see 90 percent of the guys are RCB fans. We don't have seven home games. We probably have 14 because everywhere we go, we have fans cheering the team,' he said.

As RCB celebrate consecutive titles, Kohli signalled that the ambition to keep winning was set in motion the moment last year's trophy was lifted — a target, he confirmed, that the entire group has now delivered on.