"IPL challenges you in very unique way": Kohli reflects on IPL's format and dynamic structure

New Delhi [India] April 9 : Former Indian captain and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batter Virat Kohli has emphasised how the IPL's format and dynamic structure have influenced his T20 game.
While speaking on Jio Hotstar, Kohli highlighted the unique mental and competitive challenges of the IPL and emphasised its dynamic nature compared to shorter bilateral series.
He described how the constantly changing points table created different kinds of pressure, whether it was maintaining a lead, bouncing back from a slump, or battling for a playoff spot. This dynamic environment pushed players to adapt and evolve their T20 skills, ultimately driving them to improve constantly.
"IPL challenges you in a very unique way because of how the tournament is structured. It's not like a short bilateral series; it spans several weeks, and your position on the points table keeps shifting. That constantly changing scenario brings different kinds of pressure. When you are at the top, there's the pressure to maintain that lead. If you're near the bottom, you need extra motivation to bounce back. And if you're somewhere in the middle, where you need to win, say, three out of five games, even a single loss can suddenly add a lot of pressure. This dynamic nature of the tournament pushes you mentally and competitively in various ways other formats don't. It's also driven me to improve and evolve my T20 skill set constantly," Virat Kohli said while speaking on '18 Calling 18' on JioHotstar.
Virat Kohli has been performing well in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. He has accumulated 164 runs over four matches, which includes two half-centuries. The team has been successful as a whole, securing victories in three of the four matches. They ended a 17-year winless streak in Chennai by defeating Chennai Super Kings (CSK), and they also achieved their first victory against Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Wankhede Stadium in ten years.
Kohli might soon approach Chris Gayle, as he became just the fifth batsman to achieve 13,000 runs in T20 during the current IPL 2025 season. Kohli also ranks at the top among Indian batsmen in terms of centuries, hitting nine in his career, eight of which occurred in the IPL.
Kohli had previously surpassed the 10,000-run mark T20 milestone during the 2021 IPL, accomplishing the feat in 299 innings as the third-fastest batsman after Babar Azam and Gayle. More than 8000 of Kohli's T20 runs have been scored in the IPL, where the Royal Challengers Bengaluru star continues to lead the batting charts.
Kohli scored one of his fastest fifties in the IPL against MI at the Wankhede Stadium. RCB is yet to win an IPL title, but they probably have the best squad at their disposal in IPL 2025. Kohli will be next seen in action on April 9, when RCB will take on Delhi Capitals in their next IPL 2025 match in Delhi.