'Virat Kohli relied more on gut feel than data' - RCB analyst praises India legend's 'excellent' cricket brain

Virat Kohli, one of the biggest stalwarts of Indian cricket, has played a significant role in the success of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), both as a batter and as a leader.

Before stepping down from captaincy in 2021, Kohli led the franchise for eight seasons. He was again instrumental in 2025, when RCB finally won their IPL title after 18 seasons. Kohli finished the season by scoring 657 runs at an average of 54.75.

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While Kohli never managed to lift the IPL trophy during his tenure as captain, his contributions to RCB have remained invaluable. The Indian great is known for his aggression on the field, but his cricketing intellect often goes underappreciated.

RCB’s performance analyst Freddie Wilde recently paid glowing tribute to Kohli’s instincts as a leader, revealing that the former captain often leaned on gut feel over data.

Virat Kohli's gut feel matched with data: Freddie Wilde

Talking to Jos Buttler and Stuart Broad at 'For the Love of Cricket' podcast, Wilde noted that while modern-day cricket increasingly relies on data and analysis, Kohli preferred to trust his "gut feel" in key moments. That has worked very well for the Indian star.

The analyst from England joined RCB when Faf du Plessis was the captain, after Kohli stepped down from the role. Wilde revealed that the former skipper didn’t engage heavily with data on a day-to-day basis, but consistently stood out with his insights during team and batting meetings.

"Those meetings I would lead by sharing information, and we would go bowler-by-bowler about what balls they have and where they bowl during different phases of the innings, and you could see Virat's cricketing brain kick in during those moments," he said.

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"His contributions to those meetings are often excellent. He would pick up stuff sometimes that the data doesn't say, sometimes that it does say. He's not necessarily asking for a lot of data, but what is reassuring is his gut instinct quite often completely matches the data," Wilde added.

Kohli captained RCB from 2013 to 2021, leading the side to multiple playoff appearances and a final in 2016.

Despite not winning the IPL title, Kohli is widely respected for his aggressive leadership style and consistency as a batter. His ability to read situations and adapt under pressure made him one of the most influential figures even in the modern T20 era.

MORE: 'India need a new Virat Kohli - King of Run Chases': Nasser Hussain slams Indian batters after Lord's defeat

Top run-getters in IPL history: All Orange Cap winners

In the inaugural edition of the IPL, Shaun Marsh was the highest run-scorer with 616 runs.

But Virat Kohli still holds the record for the most runs in a single IPL season when he scored 973 runs in the 2016 season.

Check out the complete list below: