KARMIC KOHLI: Virat Kohli ready to push in his 18th IPL season for RCB

King Kohli has landed in Bengaluru. What’s new? The 18^th Indian Premier league (IPL) beckons the rock star of Indian cricket with RCB – Royal Challengers Bengaluru. For those teenagers who were not even born before the first and second editions of the IPL, Kohli has not just survived. He is part of the IPL and the IPL is also a major part of him, like legend MS Dhoni.

The hype over one more stint with the Bengaluru side is massive. Despite copious tons of flak from some fans on social media, Kohli has stayed above all the dirt and criticism. He does not mind it, for to be in a monk-like state, meditate and focus on his cricket defines greatness. For those who think the IPL is just club cricket and fun, Kohli has never treated it as just another fun outing.

On Saturday, a video interview of Kohli with Isa Guha made the rounds. Frank, forthright and fearless, Kohli opened up on almost all topics. He revealed a great part of his heart and soul, something he does not do too often. He fears nothing, no one, he only believes in himself, the support from his wife Anushka Sharma and what it means to be a father to two children. Kohli is extremely protective about them, like every paren’t should he in an age of social media overdose.

To those who have trolled Kohli, it has not taken a toll on him. When he did not score runs, morons said he should retire. When Kohli failed for Delhi in a single Ranji Trophy match, they said he could fall to a delivery outside the off stump even bowled by your neighbour aunty. To be inert to all that and stay alive in cricket, Kohli has maintained inner calm and peace. It helped him, for a smashing ton against Pakistan in the Champions Trophy in Dubai was defining. There was clap and cheer for him in Dubai, in India, as well as in Pakistan. It is no secret, Kohli fans in Karachi and Lahore drool over him. Their only lament, they will never get to see King Kohli play in their own country.

Leave that aside, for that’s not a personal decision of Kohli but how India wants to tell Pakistan it cannot allow cricket and terror to coexist. With less than a week to go for the IPL 2025, Kohli is eager, excited. From the time he landed at the swanky Bengaluru airport till his hotel run in a luxurious limousine, Kohli is chased. This kind of star value and being adored, not many will get. In many ways, this is almost at par with the kind of welcome “Thala” MS Dhoni gets on arrival at the Chennai airport for his romance with the Chennai Super Kings. One must not forget, Kohli has imbibed a lot from Dhoni, though, to make any other comparison would be fundamentally flawed.

What does IPL mean to Kohli and how important is it for him to still be a major player for RCB. Well, Kohli is part of the RCB think-tank, he has a role in elevating Rajat Patidar as the new captain. And when the team bus enters the KSCA Stadium, finally, after ploughing through crowded roads in the heart of Bengaluru, Kohli will be the cynosure once the IPL matches begin. In his interview, Kohli spoke of how he bounced back from the failure in Australia during the Border Gavaskar Trophy Series. To forget that disappointment and regroup, Kohli has been fast in his response.

What it means is the master of ODI chases and a batter who still believes he can deliver for India in Test cricket is reinventing and being relevant to cricket. He is the presiding deity of cricket, be it the IPL or international cricket. For those who feel he should retire, go, take a walk.