Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin revealed about his recent conversation with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) batsman Virat Kohli. After RCB’s win over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) during the opening match of IPL 2026, the cricketer turned commentator praised Kohli’s fitness and work ethic.
Royal Challengers Bangalore chase the target of 202 runs at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday, March 28. Kohli chased the target by scoring unbeaten 69 runs in 38 balls. Fast bowler Jacob Duffy, who destroyed the Sunrisers’ top order during the powerplay, won the Player of the Match award.
I find him quite strange at this age – Ravichandran Ashwin on Virat Kohli
Ravichandran Ashwin said that Virat Kohli consistently shows great energy while running between the wickets, regardless of his age. The former Indian spinner said that Kohli is a perfect role model for aspiring cricketers.
Your daily dose of cricket!
“I find him quite strange at this age. I tell him this occasionally during our conversations. He was batting around 40, a partnership was going and RCB were leading.” Ashwin said on JioHotstar’s ‘Google Search AI Mode Match Center Live’.
He said, “He ran for the first single, stopped there and the second batsman had not even reached halfway, but he was already looking for the second. That was a 57-metre boundary on the leg side and it shows the enthusiasm he still brings to the game.”
“He walks the talk. It’s almost like he’s putting on a show for people about how the game should be played, play it hard and play it the way it’s supposed to be played. That was clear to me in terms of what Virat did. And if RCB are going to bat that way, Virat needs to bat the full 20 overs.”
Jacob Duffy didn’t try to do that against Abhishek Sharma – Ravichandran Ashwin
Ravichandran Ashwin said that Jacob Duffy quickly adjusted the length of his bowling to dismiss aggressive batsmen like Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head and Nitish Kumar Reddy inside the powerplay.
Ashwin said, “When Jacob Duffy was selected in the auction, I was probably the first person to say that it was an amazing selection to replace Josh Hazlewood. At the time, he was the No. 1 T20 bowler.”
“He also took six wickets in a Test match and is at the peak of his career. He has bowled a lot in New Zealand and knows what he is doing. The most important thing is that he can swing the ball both ways, but he did not try to do that against Abhishek Sharma.”
Duffy made his IPL debut for Royal Challengers Bangalore and delivered an impressive spell with the new ball. The fast bowler took important wickets for just 22 runs against Sunrisers Hyderabad’s strong top order.
After that, Jacob Duffy stayed away from that length – Ravichandran Ashwin
Ravichandran Ashwin pointed out that Jacob Duffy quickly learned from his early mistake after being dropped straight down the ground by Travis Head. Even after Duffy took three wickets, Sunrisers Hyderabad’s interim captain Ishan Kishan played an inning of 80 runs.
The former Indian spinner said, “The first time he bowled a full ball to Travis Head, he came down the field, learned a good lesson from it. After that, he stayed away from that length and bowled in very good areas. Tactically, RCB were better, and they executed those plans beautifully. That was probably why the scoring was kept under control. With almost 400 runs in the day, it was still a low-scoring match by Chinnaswamy standards.” It was a game.”
