'He can stop playing IPL now...': India great gives massive statement on Virat Kohli following RCB's IPL 2025 triumph

The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) defeated the Punjab Kings (PBKS) by six runs at the Narendra Modi stadium in the IPL 2025 final to win the coveted title for the first-time ever. This was quite an emotional moment especially for Virat Kohli, who has been featuring for the franchise since the inaugural season of the tournament.

The Bengaluru-based franchise had made it to the IPL final on three occasions before in 2009, 2011 and 2016, however had lost every one of those matches. The victory over PBKS in Ahmedabad was without a doubt the biggest win in RCB's history and will be remembered by their fans for years to come.

Sehwag believes Kohli can retire from the IPL if he wants to

Following the triumph, former India cricketer Virender Sehwag stated that Kohli will be very relieved with the victory and added that he can now even retire from the IPL if he wishes to.

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"It's the same for Virat Kohli. Now, he can be relieved. He can happily stop playing IPL whenever he wants to make that decision. A player plays to win the trophy. Money comes and goes, but winning trophies isn't easy. And even as Kohli's wait ended, he has still made a very strong contribution in their campaign," Sehwag said on Cricbuzz.

Sehwag also compared Kohli's wait for the IPL title to that of Sachin Tendulkar, who waited for more than 21 years to win the ODI World Cup with India. After beginning his international career in 1989, Tendulkar would finally get his hands on the World Cup in 2011 after India defeated Sri Lanka in the final at the Wankhede stadium.

"His (Kohli's) wait to win the trophy is only 18 years. Sachin Tendulkar waited from 1989 to 2011. So, Kohli's wait was shorter, and even Sachin never lost hope. He had made up his mind, he would only bow out with a World Cup trophy in his hand," Sehwag stated.

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Kohli gave brilliant performances with the bat during IPL 2025. He not only finished as RCB's highest run-getter, but also as the third-highest run-scorer in the tournament overall with 657 runs under his name in 15 matches. The 36-year-old maintained a fantastic strike-rate of 144.71 and a blistering average of 54.75 as well.