England all-rounder Jacob Bethell has opened up about his experience of sharing the dressing room with Virat Kohli at Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). The two players were part of RCB’s successful Indian Premier League campaigns in 2025 and 2026, helping the franchise win back-to-back titles.
Although Bethell played only a few matches during his two seasons with RCB, he opened the batting alongside Kohli whenever he got the opportunity. The young England batter praised Kohli’s calm nature away from the field and his strong leadership within the team.
Jacob Bethell praises Virat Kohli’s competitive mindset
Speaking on The Super Over podcast, Bethell said Kohli is friendly and easy to spend time with. However, he also highlighted how quickly the Indian star becomes highly focused once cricket takes over.
“Away from cricket and off the field, he’s actually a very chilled individual. You know, great to talk to, great to spend time around. But, it’s just that ability to then flip into that competitive nature in and around cricket or training. His lifestyle is very… Everything is… All the arrows are pointed in high performance, in a way of high performance, right? So he gives himself the best chance. But, yeah, he’s an ultra competitive person. He wasn’t captain, you know, when I was there, but he’s a massive leader within the team,” Jacob Bethell said on The Super Over podcast, via Cricket News.
Bethell featured in seven matches during RCB’s IPL 2026 title-winning campaign. He joined the playing XI after Phil Salt suffered an injury. The left-handed batter scored 96 runs during the season with a strike rate of 124.67.
Kohli once again led RCB’s batting charts. The former India captain scored 675 runs at an impressive strike rate of 165.84. He played several match-winning knocks during the season. Kohli also delivered in the IPL 2026 final, scoring an unbeaten 75 against Gujarat Titans to help RCB defend their title successfully.
