Ace Indian batter Virat Kohli was seen bowling to fellow opener Phil Salt in the nets ahead of Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s opening game against the Sunrisers Hyderabad at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on
Saturday, March 28, a video of which has gone viral on social media.
Kohli and Salt have formed one of the most explosive opening pairs in the Indian Premier League, with their partnership playing a pivotal role in Royal Challengers Bengaluru clinching their maiden title last season after an 18-year wait.
Kohli and Salt delivered brisk starts, with the latter playing the aggressor’s role while Kohli anchored the innings. Watch the video here:
???????????????????? 🤝 ???????????????????? ???????????? ???????? ???????????? ???????????????????????? ???????????????????????????????????? ????????????????????. 🥹
Virat throwing it down to Salt…openers looking out for each other already. 🤩
It’s these ???????????????????????? ???????????????????????? that matter over a long campaign. ❤️🔥
🎥 Enjoy the full video on… pic.twitter.com/JxZqIi6mgG
— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) March 24, 2026
In 13 innings together, Kohli and Salt piled up 565 runs. One of their standout partnerships came against the Kolkata Knight Riders, where they stitched together 95 runs in under nine overs while chasing 175.
Salt scored 56, while Kohli remained unbeaten on 59.
Another commanding display came against the Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur, where Kohli and Salt stitched a 92-run opening partnership in a nine-wicket victory. The latter hammered 65, while Kohli remained unbeaten on 62.
Meanwhile, Royal Challengers Bengaluru Director of Cricket, Mo Bobat, has downplayed concerns over Salt’s form, despite his underwhelming T20 World Cup campaign leading into the IPL.
“Someone like Phil Salt is still ranked in one of the top. Not recently, but the top two or three T20 batters in the world. So there is enough depth of confidence there. He also really enjoys being with RCB, his partnership with Virat,” Bobat said.
Salt made just 130 runs from eight games at a dismal average of 16.25.
