'Every ball is like a...' - Virat Kohli names star India pacer Jasprit Bumrah as the toughest bowler he ever faced

Former India skipper and the modern-day batting great, Virat Kohli is set to be in action for RCB in the upcoming Indian Premier League 2025 (IPL 2025). He is coming off a historic Champions Trophy 2025 title win with Team India. Kohli played a vital role in India’s title triumph in the prestigious cricket quadrennial.

Meanwhile, the former RCB skipper and the batting stalwart, Kohli came up with all praises for his India teammate and star MI pacer Jasprit Bumrah. The 36-year-old lauded Bumrah for his excellent abilities and the competitive force he generates while bowling at the competitive level, be it in IPL or international cricket. 

"Jasprit is the best bowler in the world" - Virat Kohli 

Notably, Kohli has faced Bumrah on several occasions in the Indian Premier League since the latter made his IPL debut 12 years back in 2013. Except for 2023, Kohli has faced Bumrah in all IPL editions from 2013 to 2024. 

“No doubt about the fact that Jasprit is the best bowler in the world, all the formats. He's gotten me out a few times in the IPL, and I've successfully got into the IPL. So whenever I say things, like, okay, it's going to be fun. Because we don't get to do that in the nets. Even in the nets, it's like playing a match. The intensity is like we are playing a match in the IPL. We're always like, every ball is like a mind game,” said Kohli in a video shared by RCB.  

"𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙄 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙢, 𝙞𝙩'𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚, '𝙊𝙠𝙖𝙮, 𝙞𝙩'𝙨 𝙜𝙤𝙣𝙣𝙖 𝙗𝙚 𝙛𝙪𝙣.'" 🗣

Ever wondered who’s the toughest bowler Virat’s ever faced? 🤔 Catch him spill the tea, at the 𝗥𝗖𝗕 𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗟𝗮𝗯 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁… pic.twitter.com/36F8d8twN6

— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) March 17, 2025

Speaking of the face-off between Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah in the Indian Premier League, the latter bowled 95 balls to the former RCB skipper. In these face-offs, Kohli has scored 140 runs, with 15 fours and five sixes, having a strike rate of 147.4 while Bumrah has dismissed Kohli on five occasions in these meetups in IPL since 2013. 

So, in the upcoming IPL 2025, it will be an interesting player battle to watch out for between two modern-day batting and bowling greats of Indian cricket.