Virat Kohli Arrives Back in India, Expected to Join RCB Ranks Ahead of 2024 IPL

The King is back. Virat Kohli has finally returned to India, following the birth of his and his wife Anushka Sharma’s son, Akaay. The talisman batter landed in Mumbai today, and it is expected that Kohli will be set to join the training camps of Royal Challengers Bangalore ahead of the 2024 IPL season.

Kohli had taken an initially unexpected hiatus prior to the India-England series, opting out of the national team citing ‘personal reasons’. Later on, it was announced that the break was taken so that the batter could tend to his partner during the birth of their son.

Now, it is time for Kohli to take to the field once again, as the veteran RCB skipper would be looking to lace up his boots to join his teammates as they embark on the new upcoming season of the cash-rich IPL.

Despite his continued brilliance for the side over the years, Royal Challengers Bangalore are still yet to get their hands on the coveted trophy, having failed to clinch the ultimate prize over the last 16 editions of the Indian Premier League.

And as always, all eyes will once again be on Virat Kohli, who will be donning the team’s jersey for the 17th year this time, a feat no other player has ever achieved in the league.

The ever-present Kohli will be expected to continue where he left off last season, after having notched up one of his best seasons in the IPL last year in 2023, scoring 639 runs, finishing as the 4th-highest run-getter in last year’s edition of the tournament.

RCB as a whole have once again stocked up on the batting talent, with the likes of batters such as Cameron Green, Faf Du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell and Rajat Patidar to name a few.

The Bangalore side will most definitely be looking to exercise some demons of their own though, especially after last season where they finished at a dismal 6th place, missing out on the playoffs.

This time around, RCB will start off their season headlining the opener of the tournament, on Friday, March 22, where they will face off against notorious rivals Chennai Super Kings, at Chepauk in Chennai.