Virat Kohli officially makes retirement declaration after RCB's IPL win

Tuesday (June 3) was a significant and special day in Virat Kohli's long and illustrious career. It was on this day that he finally laid his hands on the elusive IPL trophy as Royal Challengers Bengaluru beat Punjab Kings in the IPL 2025 final to win their maiden title.

After toiling hard for almost two decades and facing numerous heartbreaks and disappointments, the batting superstar finally managed to end up on the winning side of an IPL final. Before the win over Punjab Kings, Virat Kohli played three IPL finals with RCB but ended on the losing side on all three occasions.

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Even though he delivered consistently with the bat throughout those seasons, he just could not take RCB over the finishing line. On Tuesday, Virat Kohli and RCB finally managed to become IPL winners with the thrilling win over Punjab Kings.

It was only fitting that Kohli was the top scorer for RCB in the match. He scored 43 runs on a tough batting pitch as RCB posted a competitive total of 190/9 in the allotted 20 overs. In reply, Punjab Kings finished their innings on 184/7 with Shashank Singh scoring an unbeaten fifty.

Virat Kohli hints at retirement:

After winning his maiden IPL title, Virat Kohli hinted that he might call it a day in the IPL as well. The former RCB skipper has already retired from T20Is and Tests, and it would not be surprising if he decides to retire from IPL as well after the recent glory.

Speaking to the broadcasters after the win, Virat Kohli made it clear that he was relieved after finally winning the IPL trophy. While Kohli might not retire from the IPL immediately but he has hinted that his playing days are numbered now.

"You know as a sportsman when you are trying for something, and this is a very high intensity and high quality tournament which is of great value in world cricket today and I am someone that wants to win the big tournaments, the big moments and this one was missing and tonight, I am gonna sleep like a baby," said Kohli.

"I have an opportunity to play this game for not many years. So, there is an end to our career and by the time I hang up my boots, I want to sit at home and say I gave it everything I had. So, I look for ways to improve," he added.

Kohli enjoyed a prolific season with the bat once again. He finished the competition as RCB's highest run-scorer, scoring 657 runs in 15 games. Only Sai Sudharsan and Suryakumar Yadav scored more runs than him in IPL 2025.