Former India batter Shikhar Dhawan has hailed his Indian teammate Virat Kohli as one of the best in the world.
Kohli is currently playing for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in IPL 2026 and has found success with the bat.
Dhawan retired from all forms of cricket in 2024 and has since taken to punditry. In a recent interview, Dhawan opened up about Kohli’s evolution as a batter over the last 18 years or so.
“Virat Kohli is a pillar of Indian cricket” – Shikhar Dhawan
Speaking to RevSportz, Dhawan talked about how Kohli has evolved himself with the times. He was asked about the importance of Virat Kohli as a batter to the Indian team leading up to the 2027 World Cup.
“He [Kohli] is a pillar of Indian cricket. It’s a sign of a great player that how much they’re able to change themselves. Change is the only constant in life, so he knows that the change is necessary with time, so he brought that change into his game.”
“He is taking much smarter risks and still performing consistently now. And he is fit anyway, he is not fit just like that. He has worked very hard to achieve that fitness. His commitment and discipline levels are very high. Youngsters should learn from him what discipline is and how to maintain it. Virat Kohli exemplifies those things very well. And yeah, I am sure he will do great,” Dhawan said.
🚨EXCLUSIVE
“Kohli is a pillar of the Indian team. He’s taking more smart risks now, still performing consistently ” – Shikhar Dhawan on Virat Kohli’s evolution, Rohit Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and his vision with Da One Sports’ HPC.@CricSubhayan @SDhawan25… pic.twitter.com/vmYjtLMb5N
— RevSportz Global (@RevSportzGlobal) May 1, 2026
Virat Kohli in IPL 2026
So far in this tournament, Kohli has emerged as the highest run-scorer for his franchise, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru. With 379 runs in 9 matches, he is also the fourth-highest run-getter in the tournament.
Kohli has been continuing his record-breaking spree into IPL 2026 as well. Earlier in the season, he became the first player to score 9,000 runs in IPL history. Although by a narrow margin, Kohli is also leading the fours charts in IPL 2026.
He has held the Orange Cap twice this season already, but the race is only heating up now. Kohli has made all his runs at a strike rate above 165, showing a new dimension to his game that wasn’t always there.
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Virat Kohli has shown an extraordinary deal of consistency even at his current age of 37. He was RCB’s highest-run scorer in each of the last three IPL seasons, including in 2025 when they won the title.
RCB’s next match
Royal Challengers Bangalore will be playing Lucknow Super Giants on May 7 in their next match. The game will be held in Lucknow.
RCB have already beaten LSG once in the tournament, while playing in Bengaluru. LSG are currently placed last on the points table and are on a five-match losing streak.
Although the loss against GT put a dent in RCB’s playoffs run, the one-week gap between matches and LSG’s form may work in their favour.
