'What a player and what a knock': Virat Kohli gets special praise from THIS England footballer after RCB's back-to-back IPL titles

Royal Challengers Bengaluru's successful IPL title defence earned admiration from across the sporting world, with England football captain Harry Kane joining the growing list of well-wishers after RCB defeated Gujarat Titans by five wickets in the IPL 2026 final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Kane shared his praise on Instagram Stories, applauding Virat Kohli and the Bengaluru franchise for their remarkable achievement.

"What a player and what a knock @virat.kohli! Congrats @royalchallengers.bengaluru on making it back-to-back IPL titles," Kane wrote. After ending an 18-year wait for their maiden IPL trophy in 2025, RCB successfully defended their title in 2026 with another dominant campaign. The victory made them only the third franchise in IPL history, after Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians, to win consecutive IPL championships.

The triumph also placed Rajat Patidar among an elite group of IPL captains. The RCB skipper became only the third captain after MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma to guide a team to back-to-back IPL titles. Virat Kohli once again played a decisive role in the title-winning campaign, finishing the final unbeaten on 75 and leading from the front in the pressure-filled chase.

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Harry Kane's Instagram story Photograph: (X)

Patidar, who scored more than 500 runs during the season, credited Kohli for helping him grow as a batter while also supporting younger members of the squad. "The way I look at my batting, I try to work on where I can improve, against pacers especially. I got a lot of ideas and help from Kohli bhai. Whenever I see him, he's always there for the team and all the players. He goes to the young players even if they're nervous approaching him," Patidar said.

Reflecting on winning his second IPL title as captain, Patidar admitted that memories of last year's historic triumph resurfaced as he entered the stadium. However, he stressed that the team's focus remained firmly on the task at hand. "It feels superb. There were a lot of memories from last year, but we had to stay in the present. Don't have words to express, but feeling good," he said.