Virat Kohli's T20 Evolution: Sanjay Manjrekar Credits Shift to Mental Change

Royal Challengers Bengaluru and India maestro Virat Kohli’s evolution in T20 batting has become one of the defining stories of the IPL 2026 season, with former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar attributing the change to a crucial realisation — that the superstar is “not indispensable” anymore.

Kohli on Monday became the first batter in IPL history to cross 9,000 runs, achieving the milestone during RCB’s clash against Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. He sealed a comfortable chase of 76 with an unbeaten 23 off 15 balls, finishing in style with consecutive sixes. With 9,012 runs from 275 matches at an average above 40, Kohli continues to dominate the league. This season, he has amassed 351 runs at a striking rate of 162.50 — a sharp jump from his career strike rate of around 133.

Manjrekar believes the shift is less technical and more mental. “You’re seeing Virat Kohli bat differently… it’s nothing that has changed. It’s only that he’s decided that he’s going to bat quicker,” he said on Sportstar’s The Insight Edge podcast. According to him, Kohli earlier preferred to anchor innings, often rotating strike after boundaries to bat deep into the innings. “He wanted to extend his innings and play longer because he felt that he had to be the man batting most of the innings and didn’t quite trust the batters down the order,” Manjrekar explained.

That mindset, he argues, held RCB back in the past. “RCB changed when Virat Kohli at the top started batting a little quicker and didn’t make himself almost indispensable. And that’s when the others also blossomed under him.”

The numbers back that transformation. Over the last three seasons, Kohli’s strike rate has surged — from 154.69 in 2024 to 144.71 in 2025 and now 162.50 in 2026 — reflecting a clear intent to maximise scoring rather than preserve his wicket. Manjrekar stressed that modern T20 demands aggression over longevity. “When you have eight batters for just 20 overs, there’s no scope to pick up ones and twos just to extend the innings. You have to try and maximise,” he said, adding that players overly focused on milestones risk hurting the team.

Drawing parallels with KL Rahul, Manjrekar said many top-order batters earlier carried the burden of being the “main man,” which slowed scoring rates. “T20 cricket is not about anybody thinking his wicket is important… if someone is worried about getting out and just extending innings, that player becomes a liability,” he remarked. Kohli’s shift, therefore, is as much about trust as it is about tempo — trusting the batting unit around him and freeing himself from the need to carry the innings alone. And as RCB reap the rewards, it’s a lesson reshaping modern T20 batting.