Kohli's IPL Prep During Champions Trophy Break: BCCI Rule Violation or Clever Strategy?

Dubai(The Uttam Hindu): Team India has secured a comfortable spot in the semifinals of the 2025 Champions Trophy, with their eyes now set on reaching the final. Before the semifinal match, India will face New Zealand in their last group-stage encounter. However, the team has been granted a break, which has allowed players to rest and resume training. During this break, star batsman Virat Kohli has turned his focus to preparing for the IPL, sparking concerns over whether he has violated BCCI’s rules.

In their second Champions Trophy match, India defeated Pakistan in a dominant fashion, with Kohli playing a crucial role by scoring an unbeaten century. Following this victory, the team has a week-long break before their next match. While most players have been using this time to rest and train, Kohli was spotted at the team’s hotel in Dubai wearing his Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) jersey. A photo of Kohli, which has gone viral on social media, shows him participating in an advertisement shoot for the IPL 2025 season. This shoot was reportedly for JioStar.

This has raised the question of whether Kohli violated the BCCI’s newly issued guidelines, which prevent players from engaging in personal photo shoots or advertisements during a tournament or series. However, since IPL is a BCCI-run tournament, and the shoot was for its official broadcaster, it is unlikely to fall under the category of a personal or commercial shoot as per the guidelines.

The 18th season of IPL is set to begin soon, with Bengaluru facing Kolkata Knight Riders in the opening match on March 22. This season, RCB will be led by a new captain, Rajat Patidar, who replaces Faf du Plessis.