NEW DELHI: Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) CEO Rajesh Menon said he is a star Virat Kohli he will remain with the franchise “at least for the next three-four years”, and added that the team did not envision a future where he was not associated with RCB, even after his playing career ended.Kohli delivered another strong IPL season, finishing as RCB’s top run-scorer in IPL 2026 with 675 runs at a strike rate of 165.84 – his highest ever in a single edition. In the final, he played a crucial unbeaten 75-run victory that helped RCB become only the third team after Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians to successfully defend the title.“RCB and Virat are different sides of the same coin,” Menon told CNBC TV18.“He has been a constant factor for RCB all along. We have not seen him not being a part of RCB even if he ends his cricketing career. We have to understand. Still, for the next three or four years, I’m sure he’ll be playing… at least four years. He is in shape, hunger never dies. You saw how he brought energy, runs, attitude….everything was there this IPL season. Three or four years, absolutely no problem,” he said.Kohli, who has been with the RCB line-up since the start of the IPL in 2008, has often spoken about his motivation and love for the game.“I just give my heart and soul on the field, whether I’m playing or batting, because everything will end one day,” Kohli said last month. “And I want to make the most of every day that I’m on the court and just enjoy and have fun and look forward to the pressure situation, I look forward to scenarios where I feel a little heat. And then I challenge myself to say, you know what, here you go. And when you cross the line, it makes you a better player.“And sport, as you know, also teaches you a lot as a person. So you build your character slowly and surely when you continue to perform under pressure. And for me, even after all these years and numbers and whatever you say, it’s still the love of the game. I just love hitting the ball in the middle of the club. And that joy is still there.”Although he has retired from Tests and T20Is, Kohli said he wants to continue playing ODI cricket at least until the 2027 World Cup.Kohli missed the recent ODI in Afghanistan due to a hamstring injury, but head coach Ajit Agarkar expects him to be fit for the upcoming ODI series against England in July.“We are in the middle of 2026. I have been asked many times, ‘Do you want to play in 2027?’ Why would I leave home, bring my stuff and say ‘I don’t know what I want’?” Kohli said on the RCB podcast. “Of course if I play, I want to play cricket, I want to continue. Playing in the World Cup for India is amazing.”He also made it clear that he does not want to constantly prove his worth in the team.“My perspective is very clear,” Kohli said. “If I can add value to the environment I’m a part of and if the environment feels like I can add value, I will be seen.“If I feel like I need to prove my worth and my worth, I’m not in that space. And because I’m honest in my preparation, I’m honest in my approach to the game. I keep my head down, I work hard. I’m very thankful to God for giving me everything I’ve got in my cricket career. And I feel very blessed and grateful for the opportunity.“And when I come to play, I put my head down, I work as much, if not more, than anyone else. And I play the game the right way. You want me to run from boundary to boundary for 40 overs in an ODI match, I will do it without complaint. Because that’s what I’m preparing for. I am preparing for the fact that I will play 50 overs, every ball as if it were the last I will play in my career. And I’ll ask like that. And so I will run between the doors. And I will do everything possible for the team.
What aspect of Kohli’s performance do you admire the most?
“After working like this, if I have to be in a place where I have to prove my value and worth, that place is not meant for me. And I’m very clear in my head from that perspective. That’s why when I came back to play, I was very clear in my head that I’m not going out there to prove anything to anybody. I’m going to play because I love playing the game.”
