Why Kohli remains story of IPL 2026

This column had to be about Virat Kohli. Again. Even at the cost of being branded his stooge. The choice, admittedly, was not straightforward. It came down to the King and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, the 15-year-old sensation who lit up the Indian Premier League 2026 and finished with the Orange Cap. In another season, that achievement alone may have settled the debate. But cricket ultimately rewards what matters most: winning. Individual milestones are celebrated, records are remembered, but the trophy remains the game’s ultimate currency.

Sooryavanshi may have topped the run-scoring charts, yet it was Kohli’s contribution to Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s title-winning campaign that tipped the scales. The Orange Cap is a remarkable accomplishment; the IPL trophy is the accomplishment every player covets. That is not to diminish Sooryavanshi’s extraordinary achievement. To dominate a tournament featuring some of the world’s finest bowlers at the age of 15 is almost beyond comprehension.

Indian cricket has produced prodigies before, but very few have arrived on such a stage and flourished with such confidence. The youngster has given the country a glimpse of what the next decade may look like. Yet the IPL is not merely a competition of promise. It is a competition of pressure, endurance and the ability to deliver when expectations are at their highest. That is where Kohli’s story continues to resonate. For nearly two decades, he has been the face of Indian cricket’s relentless pursuit of excellence.

He has accumulated runs across formats at a rate that places him among the game’s modern greats. More impor tantly, he has done so while carrying a burden of expectation few athletes in any sport have experienced. Every innings is scrutinised, every failure amplified and every success treated as inevitable. Such longevity is perhaps Kohli’s greatest achievement. Cricket history is littered with gifted players whose brilliance flickered briefly before fading.

Kohli, however, has remained relevant across generations. He has shared dressing rooms with icons of the previous era and now competes against players young enough to have grown up idolising him. That contrast was on full display this season. On one side stood the teenage phenomenon representing cricket’s future; on the other stood a veteran who has spent years redefining its present.

The former captured imaginations; the latter helped secure the prize that every franchise seeks – not once, but twice, and back to back. Perhaps that is why Kohli remains the story. Talent excites, youth inspires and records attract headlines. But winning championships, season after season, is what cements sporting legacies. Sooryavanshi’s time will come. Indeed, it may already have begun. But IPL 2026 belongs to Kohli – not because he outshone every rival, but because he once again proved that greatness is measured not only by runs scored, but by trophies won.