Who’s the Real Boss? Virat Kohli Set to Respond to KL Rahul’s Celebration

Who's the Real Boss? Virat Kohli Set to Respond to KL Rahul's Celebration

Rivalries in the IPL sometimes go beyond staying with the team, and become truly personal as fans pay close attention. One such personal rivalry is developing between KL Rahul and Virat Kohli this IPL season.

Earlier this month, KL Rahul played a phenomenal inning at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru scoring an outstanding 93 not out off 53 balls against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). At the end of his innings, KL celebrated by saying to the crowd that he had made “their home” now “his home”. His celebratory video soon became a trending topic among cricket fans and players alike – with people all over social media commenting and debating for and against Rahul’s actions.

As the IPL now nears the completion of its Delhi leg, the weight on Rahul’s words could potentially come from Virat Kohli (the RCB mainstay and the man full of passion). Kohli’s version of ‘home’ is the Arun Jaitley Stadium (Kohli also has a pavilion at the stadium named after him), and may even wait for KL Rahul to score runs at ‘their home’ before he disappears after that run of form.

Former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar has also weighed in on the developing story suggesting that Kohli may take this chance to show who owns this territory. “I think Virat would do a little bit differently than that. I think he will say, ‘OK, that pavilion in which you are sitting, it’s mine, and who’s the boss? It’s Virat is the boss there’,” said Bangar on Star Sports.

If we take the personal pride out of it, the match means more to both teams, particularly as RCB and Delhi Capitals are currently equal on points, 12, and the winner could also take the Nirvana Vantage IPL 2025 Orange Cap from Gujarat Titans.

Kohli’s form adds another layer to game in that as a second leading run-scorer in IPL 2025, he has scored 392 runs in 9 innings at 65.33 with a strike rate of 144.11, and he may have thoughts of wearing the Orange Cap beyond the personal battle with a rival team and city, if he can contribute well enough.