His bat is never silent in IPL, RCB can win it this year, says Kaif on Kohli winning trophy this year

New Delhi, May 14 (IANS) Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif gave his take on the chances of Virat Kohli winning the IPL title this year, saying Royal Challengers Bengaluru have been in a scintillating form this year and with their best all-round side the Bengaluru-based franchise will definitely lift their maiden title.

In the current season, RCB are placed second with 16 points and one win away from securing their place in the playoffs. Meanwhile, Virat Kohli, who into the tournament on the back of Orange Cap-winning 2024 season (741 runs), is currently placed fourth in the list of most run-getter this season with 505 runs, just six runs shy of the top placed Surya Kumar Yadav (510 runs).

“If we talk about RCB as a team, they have been fantastic. I am emphasising the word ‘team’ because they have always been a batting-heavy team, they used to have the mindset of outsourcing their opponents. But this time Rajat Patidar has done a fantastic job of using his bowlers, restricting opponents while defending 170-180.

“Kohli has continued doing what he does best, his bat is never silent during the IPL but the bowlers have given them the belief that they can win. The team with the best all-round side usually has the best chance, so I do believe they can win it this year,” Kaif told IANS.

Kohli, who now retired from T20Is and Tests, has won the 2011 ODI World Cup, the 2013 and 2025 Champions Trophy and the 2024 T20 World Cup in his storied career so far. But his IPL franchise RCB are yet to win the title.

Kohli made his IPL debut shortly after that U-19 win and has been part of the RCB set-up ever since, also leading the side from 2013 to 2021, during which he guided them to the 2016 final. That same year, he scored a record 973 runs, which is still the most runs scored in a single IPL edition. The former India captain is the only player with over 8000 IPL runs under his belt.

–IANS

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