The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) are currently riding a wave of momentum that most franchises can only dream of. After finally ending their title drought in 2025, the defending champions have sprinted out of the blocks in IPL 2026 with a commanding victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad. While their on-field clinical execution is making headlines, it is the infectious camaraderie behind the scenes that suggests this ‘New Age RCB’ is built on more than just talent—it’s built on genuine brotherhood.

Virat Kohli entertains teammates with spot-on impression of Romario Shepherd

Nothing captured this spirit better than a recent viral video from the RCB practice sessions. In the clip, talismanic batter Virat Kohli is seen entertaining his teammates with a pitch-perfect, comedic mimicry of West Indies powerhouse Romario Shepherd. Kohli, known for his high-octane intensity during matches, channelled his inner comedian to replicate Shepherd’s unique, wide-stanced power-hitting setup. The imitation, complete with Shepherd’s distinct backlift and aggressive follow-through, left the entire squad, including Phil Salt and mentor Dinesh Karthik, in splits.

The choice of victim for Kohli’s antics isn’t accidental. Shepherd has rapidly evolved from a tactical signing into a cult hero within the RCB dressing room. Since joining in 2025, the Guyanese all-rounder has delivered moments of pure gold. Fans still talk about his blistering 14-ball 53 against CSK last season, a knock that essentially paved the way for their playoff qualification. Shepherd further cemented his legacy by dismissing PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer in the 2025 final, a turning point that secured RCB’s maiden trophy.

Shepherd’s 2026 campaign is off to an equally explosive start, having dismantled the SRH top order with a three-wicket haul. Kohli’s light hearted ribbing of Shepherd’s batting style reflects a team that is comfortable in its own skin. When the world’s premier batter feels free to joke around with the team’s primary finisher, it signals a lack of hierarchy that often precedes a dynasty. Kohli himself isn’t just joking around; he’s leading by example on the pitch, having kicked off the season with a sublime 69 off 38 balls, proving his purple patch is far from over.

Here’s the video:

VIRAT KOHLI IMITATING ROMARIO SHEPHERD’S BATTING STYLE. 😂♥️

– King Kohli, What a character! pic.twitter.com/CMwbCnwmjl

— Tanuj (@ImTanujSingh) April 1, 2026

Also WATCH: Virat Kohli tackle a hilarious quiz about his RCB records

Kohli’s mentorship and the RCB’s road to the Southern Derby

Beyond the laughter, the RCB camp remains a hub for elite mentorship. Young left-arm spinner Vicky Ostwal recently shed light on the deeper side of the RCB culture. Ostwal shared how Kohli meticulously analyzes net sessions, offering the youngster precise feedback on mindset and execution. This balance of fun and focus is what coach Andy Flower and mentor Karthik have been striving for.

The vibes in the Bengaluru camp couldn’t be better, but the ultimate test looms large. RCB is set to face their eternal rivals, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), this Sunday, April 5. As the team transitions from the lightheartedness of Kohli’s impressions to the tactical rigors of the ‘Southern Derby,’ the defending champions look more dangerous than ever. If the harmony in the dugout is any indication, the RCB faithful might just have another trophy parade to plan for in 2026.

Also WATCH: Phil Salt grabs a one-handed blinder to remove dangerous Ishan Kishan during RCB vs SRH clash

US defence secretary Pete Hegseth has asked army chief of staff general Randy George to step down and take immediate retirement, reports CBS News.Hegseth reportedly wants someone in the role who will fully implement the vision he and President Trump have for the army. A senior defence department official told CBS News, “We are grateful for his service, but it was time for a leadership change in the Army.“George is a West Point graduate and career infantry officer who has served in the military for decades. He was commissioned in 1988 and has deployed during Operation Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation Enduring Freedom. Before being appointed army chief of staff, George served as vice chief of staff from 2022 to 2023 and as senior military assistant to US defence secretary Lloyd Austin from 2021 to 2022 during the Biden administration.George was nominated for the position of army chief of staff by then US President Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate in 2023. A typical four-year term would have kept him in the post until 2027.The current vice chief of staff, general Christopher LaNeve, who previously served as Hegseth’s military aide and as commanding general of the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division from 2022 to 2023, will serve as acting Army chief of staff. Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said LaNeve is “a battle-tested leader with decades of operational experience and is completely trusted by Secretary Hegseth to carry out the vision of this administration without fault.”Hegseth has previously fired over a dozen senior military officers. The decision to remove George was not related to a recent incident in which Hegseth overruled the Army’s suspension of an aircrew that flew by American artist Kid Rock’s house in Nashville. After the suspension and an administrative review, Hegseth wrote on his personal X account, “No punishment. No investigation. Carry on, patriots.” George’s ouster was independent of this event.

SRINAGAR: J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday sought a “transparent and time-bound probe” after a family from his constituency, Ganderbal, claimed that a person killed in an alleged encounter by the Army on March 31 had no links with terrorism, and lodged a police complaint seeking an FIR and investigation.Omar said the family’s claim should not be dismissed. “At the very least, this encounter needs a transparent & time-bound (sic.) probe with the facts made public. Any attempt to obfuscate or delay the announcement of a probe will only damage credibility & that is not in anyone’s interest,” he wrote on X.On Wednesday morning, the Army had said one terrorist was eliminated during a joint operation with J&K Police in the Arahama area of Ganderbal the previous night. However, Ajaz Ahmad Mughal, the brother of the deceased Rashid Ahmad Mughal (28), claimed he had no involvement in terror activities.Ajaz said his brother left home on the morning of March 31 and did not return. On April 1, around 10 am, the SHO of the Lar police station informed him that his brother had met with an accident, and brought him to the police control room in Srinagar, where he was asked to identify the body.Ajaz claimed police informed him that the body was of a foreign terrorist. “I told them he is my brother,” he said, adding that bullets had damaged his brother’s skull.After identifying his brother, Ajaz said he was asked by police to accompany him to Kupwara in north Kashmir, where he was buried in a graveyard. Since 2019, the bodies of local terrorists killed in encounters are not handed to the families, and are buried away in Kupwara and Uri to prevent mass gatherings.Ajaz said everyone in the village of Chountwaliewar and the Ganderbal district knew his brother and could substantiate that he was not involved in terrorism, but helped people get Aadhaar and domicile certificates. “He was preparing for recruitment in the Army,” Ajaz said.Police have not issued any statement on the operation. Srinagar-based defence PRO refused to comment on the family’s allegations and said police would check the background of the slain person, and details would emerge in a few days.Srinagar-Ganderbal MP Aga Ruhullah Mehdi called the allegations grave, saying that “silence from J&K Police is unacceptable”.Former CM Mehbooba Mufti, too, alleged that it was a fake encounter. “He was an orphan and was running an NGO,” she said while speaking to media persons.

Iran’s IRGC says 37th wave of attacks launched against Israel, heavy missiles used

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has reportedly claimed that it has struck a data center of American tech company Oracle in Dubai. According to a report in AlJazeera, IRGC’s navy command claims it launched an attack on a data center belonging to the US technology firm Oracle in Dubai. The claim was reportedly made via Iranian state media and follows the IRGC’s recent public threats to target facilities of 18 major US tech companies, including Oracle, in the Middle East.Just a day earlier, on April 1, IRGC also claimed credit for an attack on an Amazon cloud computing center in Bahrain. The Bahrain’s Interior Ministry said that civil defence teams were extinguishing a fire at a company facility following what authorities described as an Iranian attack. The report of the strike came a day after Iran’s Revolutionary Guards threatened to target U.S. companies in the Middle East, including Microsoft, Google and Apple , in retaliation for attacks on Iran.Last week, the e-commerce giant said its Amazon Web Services region in Bahrain had been “disrupted” amid the current conflict in the Middle East, marking the second time in a month that its operations have been affected by the war.Earlier this week, IRGC reportedly sent a warning to American companies, similar to one issued in March. In its message, IRGC said that it would start targeting US technology and finance companies in the Middle East. IRGC’s post warned “employees of these companies to leave their workplaces immediately to save their lives. It said that residents around these terrorist companies in all countries in the region should also leave their places within a radius of one kilometer and go to a safe place.” In a statement, the Guards said, “These companies, starting from 8:00 pm (1630 GMT) Tehran time on Wednesday, April 1, should expect the destruction of their relevant units in exchange for every assassination in Iran.” The IRGC said the U.S. had “ignored our repeated warnings about the need to stop terrorist operations, and today, a number of Iranian citizens were martyred in your and your Israeli allies’ terrorist attacks.In the post that reportedly appeared on Telegram messaging app, the IRGC accused these 18 companies of acting as “spies” for the US government and helping it to carry out strikes. It said that since the main element in designing and tracking terror targets are American ICT and AI companies, in response to this terrorist operation, from now on the main institutions effective in terrorist operations will be our legitimate targets.“

American companies named in IRGC’s warning letter

Out of the 18 companies named in IRGC’s letter, 10 are American technology companies. Names include:* Microsoft* Apple* Google* Meta* IBM * Cisco* Oracle* Tesla * Nvidia* Intel* Palantir* JP Morgan * Boeing

Donald Trump’s address to the nation on Iran war

The Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations has issued a sharp response following recent comments from Washington, asserting that “the US President’s explicit threat to ‘bomb Iran back to the Stone Age’ reflects ignorance, not strength, and constitutes evidence of intent to commit war crimes under international humanitarian law and the Rome Statute.”In a post on X, the Iranian Mission to the UN shared the following: “The US President’s explicit threat to ‘bomb Iran back to the Stone Age’ reflects ignorance, not strength, and constitutes evidence of intent to commit war crimes under international humanitarian law and the Rome Statute. Iran’s civilisation spans more than 7,000 years, whereas the US is scarcely 250 years old. Civilisations are defined by their history, culture, resilience, and scientific contributions. The world remains indebted to the civilisation and knowledge that Iranian scholars have bestowed upon humanity for millennia. Such a civilisation cannot be destroyed by bombing.”The essage from Tehran followed national address by the US President Donald Trump, during which he maintained that while Washington has successfully reached its primary goals, the American military will continue to launch strikes against various locations throughout Iran.

Has IPL Chairman hinted at IPL expansion? (Screengrab)

Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman Arun Singh Dhumal has opened up on the possibility of expanding the tournament, stating that while demand for more matches exists, the biggest challenge remains the packed international cricket calendar. In a conversation with the Financial Times, Dhumal explained that the IPL’s growth, from the current 74 matches to a potential 84 or even 94-game season, depends largely on finding additional space in the global schedule.Dhumal highlighted that the current Future Tours Programme (FTP), which governs international fixtures, leaves little room for expansion.