“King Kohli” set to continue dominance of IPL stats with 19th stint for RCB
India’s Virat Kohli – “King Kohli” to his legions of fans around the world – is regarded as one of the greatest cricketers of all time, a generational talent who could easily have buckled under the weight of expectation following the retirement of compatriot Sachin Tendulkar in 2013.
But as one legend of the game bowed out with a still unrivalled 34,357 international runs to his credit, a ready-made idol was moving out of the shadows, proving himself to be a classy, tenacious and supremely fit batter with an insatiable appetite for scoring runs and chasing down targets.
The stats will tell you, as of 24 March 2026, that Kohli has accumulated 28,215 international runs – second only to Tendulkar, but in 156 fewer innings than the “Little Master” – since making his One-Day International (ODI) debut for India as a 19-year-old in 2008.
What they won’t tell you, however, is that the multi-format maestro has achieved it with millions of adoring fans hanging on his every word, scrutinizing every on-field move, cheering every elegant swish of his bat.
Nor will they proclaim his 275 million Instagram followers – dwarfing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 101 million followers, and third only to footballers Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi among all professional athletes – or, indeed, the 66.3 million fans he’s attracted on X (formerly Twitter), where he describes himself as a “proud husband and father”.
Kohli has been the heartbeat of a nation renowned for idolizing their most gifted players. His retirement from T20 Internationals (T20I) in 2024 – after a Player-of-the-Match-winning 76 in the T20 World Cup final against South Africa – and Test matches the following year shook India’s sporting landscape and left a chasmic void in two formidable batting line-ups.
Fortunately, he still has power to add in ODIs after compiling a record-extending 54th century in his most recent knock, against New Zealand on 18 January.
Now, just days away from the 19th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Kohli is hoping to extend a handful of records as the tournament’s ultimate one-team player, having turned out for this year’s defending champions, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB; formerly Royal Challengers Bangalore), in each of the previous 18 editions (2008-25).
Read about more record-breaking sports stars in our dedicated Sports and Fitness section.
As a sprightly 37-year-old in the twilight of his playing career, but seemingly yet to tap into his reserves of energy and enthusiasm, Kohli heads into the 2026 tournament as the IPL’s all-time leader for most runs (8,661), most runs in a season (973 in 2016), most hundreds (eight), most fifties (63) and most catches by an outfield player (117).
Kohli captained RCB for 11 IPL seasons (2013-23), winning 66 of his 143 matches in charge. He was runner-up on three occasions (in 2009, 2011 and 2016), and has finished third three times (in 2010, 2015 and 2022).
He even has four IPL wickets to his name, just to prove that he can do practically anything on a cricket field.
Kohli has been selected 267 times for RCB since lining up for the IPL’s first-ever match – a 140-run thrashing by Kolkata Knight Riders at M Chinnaswamy Stadium (RCB’s home ground) on 18 April 2008. Bowled fifth ball with just a single to his name that day, things have improved considerably since then for “VK” – or “Chiku”, as he’s affectionately known to some.
On 3 June 2025, Kohli’s Bengaluru finally got their hands on the winners’ trophy, beating Punjab Kings by six runs at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Kohli top-scored for RCB with a crucial innings of 43.
His trophy cabinet is crammed with international and continental honours for winning the ODI World Cup (2011), the Champions Trophy (2013 and 2025), the T20 World Cup (2024) and the Asia Cup (2010, 2016 and 2023), but back-to-back IPL titles would write yet another chapter of a phenomenal career that just keeps on giving to his hero-worshipping public.
Kohli made INR 21 crore ($2.5 million; £1.8 million) from his participation in the 2025 IPL, and will pocket the same salary in 2026 as RCB look to retain their title with star players including Australia’s Josh Hazlewood and England’s Phil Salt, under the captaincy of India’s Rajat Patidar.
Just eight other men had reached 5,000 IPL runs up to and including the 2025 tournament, led by Rohit Sharma (7,046 runs in 2008-25), Shikhar Dhawan (6,769 runs in 2008-24) and David Warner (6,565 runs in 2009-24). Kohli’s mammoth total of 8,661 runs is, therefore, in no immediate danger while he’s still churning out runs for Bengaluru in domestic franchise cricket.
Another Orange Cap, awarded to the tournament’s top run-getter, to go with the ones he earned in 2016 (for the aforementioned 973 runs in 16 matches) and 2024 (for 741 runs in 15 matches), would come as little surprise to anyone who follows the game – and, you suspect, Kohli himself, whose quest for more silverware is unwavering.
After several delays, the 2026 IPL kicks off with Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bengaluru taking on Sunrisers Hyderabad at M Chinnaswamy Stadium on 28 March 2026. The winners will be crowned in Bengaluru on 31 May.
As of 24 March 2026, Kohli’s other Guinness World Records titles include:
- Fastest time to reach 10,000 ODI runs – 205 innings
- Most runs scored in a Men’s Cricket World Cup tournament – 765 (2023)
- Highest batting average in a T20I career (male) – 48.69 runs per innings (2010-24)
- Most runs scored at the Men’s T20 World Cup – 1,292 (2012-24)
- Most fifties scored at the Men’s T20 World Cup – 15 (2012-24)
- Highest annual earnings for a male cricket player (current year) – INR 250-300 crore ($38.4 m, or £28.5 m, in 2025)
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