"Things are different now" - RCB seamer's huge claim on relationship with Virat Kohli post IPL 2025 win

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and India pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar recently opened up about how his conversations with veteran batter and IPL teammate Virat Kohli have changed over time. The duo played a key role in RCB’s historic IPL 2025 campaign, where the team clinched their maiden title after 18 years under the captaincy of Rajat Patidar.

Speaking on the YouTube podcast ‘Talk with Manvendra,’ the 35-year-old reflected on his bond with Kohli. He revealed that nowadays, their conversations revolve more around family matters rather than the playful jokes and banter they shared when they were younger.

“Things are different now. When we meet these days, we talk more about family or off-the-ground family matters because everyone has a family now. We talk about how we are doing in life other than cricket. Earlier, when we weren’t married and were younger, it was more about the usual fun and jokes boys have. So that’s where the change has come,” Bhuvneshwar said.

“But I think on the ground we are professional. We never really need that bond to perform well on the field because if RCB has picked me, or picked Virat, or any other player, they want us to perform well on the ground regardless of whether we have a friendship or not. I think we know what we have to do on the ground. But off the ground, of course, as I said, things have changed in that way. Everyone has matured, and of course, we’ve grown older, so now the conversations are different,” he added.

Bhuvneshwar claimed 17 wickets in 14 matches for RCB during the 2025 season, while Virat Kohli scored 657 runs in 15 innings, registering eight half-centuries.

---

“Didn’t have to do much” - Bhuvneshwar Kumar on Rajat Patidar’s leadership and RCB’s successful IPL 2025 campaign

In the same conversation, Bhuvneshwar Kumar also discussed playing under Rajat Patidar and praised how effortlessly he managed an experienced team with several senior players. Speaking about Patidar, he said:

“It was very good. The best part was that since it was such an experienced team, I think Rajat didn’t have to do much. The best thing was that he didn’t interfere too much, but the areas where he did show leadership were exactly what is needed on the ground, that the leader should take decisions, and he took them very well. Because somewhere, when you have so many senior players and such an experienced team, they tend to hesitate in making decisions, but he didn’t. That was a quality of his leadership, that where it was needed, he made decisions, and where it wasn’t, he stayed completely relaxed. So, I think he knew exactly where to interfere in a good way and where not to.”

The 35-year-old also shared that the key difference for RCB in the 2025 edition was how various players stepped up at different moments. He said:

“This time, the biggest difference was that all the players in the playing XI won matches for the team in different games, in different situations, and in different roles. When you play such a big tournament with so many matches and so many teams, you can’t win the tournament based on the consistent performances of just one or two players. You need as many players as possible from your 11 or 12-member squad to perform. That’s exactly what happened with RCB. There were many matches where the bowlers did their job and many matches where the batters did it. As I said, in every situation, at every stage, some new player stepped up and won the game for the team.”

RCB edged out Shreyas Iyer’s Punjab Kings (PBKS) by six runs in the final, successfully defending 191 to secure the championship.