Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has backed Virat Kohli to arrive at IPL 2026 carrying even greater hunger than the season in which he finally lifted the trophy with Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Speaking on JioStar, Pathan suggested that winning the IPL for the first time last season has not dulled Kohli's competitive edge; it has only made it stronger. He argued that the 36-year-old will carry an intensified desire to defend the title and string together back-to-back championships, something no RCB side has managed across the franchise's entire history in the competition.
Pathan pointed to Kohli's performances in India's recent ODI assignments against South Africa and New Zealand as evidence of a man still driven by the need to make a difference in every single match he plays. The former seamer noted that Kohli looks desperate to leave a mark regardless of the format or the occasion, and that this quality will translate directly into the IPL setting once the tournament gets underway. Pathan stated plainly that the hunger Kohli carries: to win, to perform, and to drag his team over the line, does not fade once he gets what he wants; it just finds a new target.
"The hunger in Virat Kohli will be there. In fact, he will be hungrier than ever, especially after lifting the IPL trophy last season. He will want to win back-to-back IPL trophies. That hunger in him to win and create an impact is always going to be there."
"We have seen that when he played for India, especially in the one-day series against South Africa and New Zealand. He looks like he wants to make an impact in every game. I think he will have the same kind of passion when he comes back this season. He will want to lift the trophy once again."
Those are words that carry genuine authority because Pathan has shared dressing rooms and high-pressure moments with Kohli across various stages of his career, and understands, from personal experience, the internal drive that sets Kohli apart from most cricketers at this level.
Virat Kohli goes into IPL 2026 as defending champions
Kohli heads into IPL 2026 off the back of arguably the most emotionally significant chapter of his white-ball career. His maiden IPL triumph last season with RCB ended a 17-year wait for the franchise and came wrapped in real personal meaning, given that Kohli had spent his entire career committed to the Bengaluru outfit.
His form across India's recent international commitments has remained sharp, with several authoritative contributions in the ODI format suggesting that his batting still looks as sharp as it did three years ago. At 36, Kohli enters this new campaign not as someone playing out his final chapters, but as a man who has just been reminded what winning feels like, and, if Pathan has read him right, a genuine belief that a second consecutive title is well within RCB's grasp.
