Watch- Virat Kohli Left Stunned By Bhuvneshwar Kumar's Deadly Ball Days Before IPL 2026

Virat Kohli in RCB nets facing Bhuvneshwar Kumar before IPL 2026 (PC-x.com)

Virat Kohli joined the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) camp for the Indian Premier League (IPL 2026) late on Wednesday evening. Just one day with the team, the former RCB captain has already begun practising in the nets with the bowlers, especially Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

Kohli and Kumar have shared the Indian dressing for the majority of the last decade, and the right-arm medium-pacer joined Kohli in the RCB only ahead of the IPL 2025. Bhuvi Kumar's addition changed the fortunes for the franchise, as they won their first IPL title in 18 years.

The reigning champions will look to repeat the history, as Virat Kohli himself vowed to defend the title in IPL 2026. But for that, RCB would want extraordinary performances from their most experienced men, Kohli and Kohli.

A Bhuvneshwar Kumar Yorker stuns Virat Kohli!

As Kohli was seen sweating hard in the RCB nets on Thursday, a video has surfaced on social media showing Bhuvi Kumar bowling full throttle to the IPL's highest run-getter.

In the video shared on platform X, a yorker down the leg-stump from Bhuvneshwar Kumar outfoxed the 37-year-old batter. Kohli read the length correctly and shuffled inside to league the ball.

In a real game-stimulation, the umpire would have given it as a wide and Bhuvneshwar had to reload it again.

𝐑𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐢𝐢⁴⁵

@rushiii_12

This yorker from Bhuvneshwar Kumar completely beat Virat Kohli.🫡 In the last two years, Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s name has gone a bit down, but maybe in this IPL he will definitely do something special.🙌

Mar 19, 2026, 12:35 PM

Bhuvneshwar Kumar to lead RCB's bowling in IPL 2026

In the absence of Josh Hazlewood for the first two matches this season, Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be leading RCB's bowling attack. But Hazlewood's absence would make RCB just a mere shadow of what they were in IPL 2026.

However, Bhuvneshwar is one of the most successful bowlers in the IPL. After 17 wickets last season, the 36-year-old became the second most successful bowler in the league. Overall, he has taken 198 wickets in 190 matches, debuting in the IPL back in 2011. The right-arm quick is just behind another RCB blood Yuzvendra Chahal (221 wickets).

Apart from Hazlewood and Kumar, Krunal Pandya (17) and Yash Dayal (13) bowled exceptionally last season. However, Dayal, due to a legal case, hasn't played any cricket since IPL 2025.

How did Virat Kohli fare in IPL 2025?

On the other hand, Virat Kohli was at his imperial best during RCB's victorious season. The right-handed opener was a perfect blend to gung-ho Phil Salt, and amassed 657 runs in 15 matches at a strike rate of 144.71. He finished the season just behind Sai Sudharsan and Suryakumar Yadav in terms of runs.

All over, Kohli has hit 8661 runs in the IPL. The next in the list are Rohit Sharma with 7046 runs, Shikhar Dhawan (6769) and David Warner (6565).

RCB will kick off their campaign on the opening day against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on March 28.