Former India opener Kris Srikkanth has completely ignored and dismissed the rising rumours regarding Virat Kohli's connection with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the future. A few days back, the reports had mentioned that the superstar batter had opted not to extend his commercial contract with the franchise past the 2025 season and thereby triggering rumours about a possible retirement from IPL.
The rumors became stronger even though Kohli guided RCB to their first IPL title this year, a victory that was awaited for a long time in the 18th season of the tournament. Kohli's excellent performance and leadership were the main reasons for RCB's success, which made the speculation about his future even more surprising.
“These are all just rumours,” says Kris Srikkanth
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Srikkanth dismissed the rumours outright. “It’s just speculation because he (Kohli) has just won RCB the IPL. So I don’t think he’ll retire. These are all obvious rumours — just business decisions related to ownership,” he said. “As far as Virat Kohli is concerned, he’ll continue with RCB.”
Srikkanth further emphasised that the 36-year-old remains in top physical and mental shape to keep playing in the league. “Why should he retire? He played brilliantly in this IPL. Unless he personally decides to step away, there’s no reason to stop. Virat Kohli is good enough to play another three years of IPL. He will always score runs — he’s the king of kings,” Srikkanth added.
During RCB's triumphant run in IPL 2025, Kohli was in marvellous form, garnering 657 runs in 15 games, with the average of 54.75 and the strike rate of 144.71, which included eight fifties. He has already quit Tests and T20Is, however, Kohli is still an option for India in ODIs, plus he is still one of the most powerful characters in global cricket.
