IPL playerIndia2008 to 2026
Virat Kohli
On scorecards: V Kohli · Right-hand bat
Virat Kohli, a batter, has played nineteen IPL seasons, all of them with Royal Challengers Bangalore, now Royal Challengers Bengaluru, and has scored more runs than anyone else in IPL history, 9,346. Two titles came along the way.
The arrival
Virat Kohli was there from the start, in the league's first season, 2008, signed by Royal Challengers Bangalore outside the auction.
That first season brought 13 matches, 165 runs and 2 wickets. The best was still to come.
The peak
The high point with the bat was 2016, for Royal Challengers Bangalore: 973 runs at an average of 81.1, striking at 152.0 in a season when the league as a whole struck at 131.5, with 4 hundreds and 7 fifties, and a highest score of 113. It came in a season as captain. There were twelve seasons of 400 runs or more in all (2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026).
One franchise
Virat Kohli has spent the whole IPL career with Royal Challengers Bangalore, now Royal Challengers Bengaluru, from 2008 to 2026. Captain in nine seasons (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021). The club won two titles with Virat Kohli in the side: 2025 and 2026.
Bat, ball and method
Across the career, Virat Kohli has struck at 134.9. The league around those same seasons, weighted by how much batting each one involved, struck at 134.4, so the scoring rate has tracked the league's almost exactly. 57% of the runs came in fours and sixes: 847 fours and 317 sixes, the 3rd-most sixes in IPL history.
The ball-by-ball record adds the detail. 32.5% of the balls Virat Kohli faced were dot balls, a lower share than 83% of the 140 batters who have faced 500 balls or more in the IPL. A six came every 21.9 balls, and a four every 8.2.
With the ball, 4 wickets in 257 deliveries, at 8.59 runs an over against a league rate of 7.69 for the same seasons: 0.91 an over more expensive than the typical bowler of the time.
The fielding record: 126 catches and 20 run-outs.
Where it stands
On the all-time IPL lists, among 810 players, Virat Kohli stands 1st for runs, 1st for matches played, 3rd for sixes and 2nd for player-of-the-match awards. The story is still being written: 2026 was another season with Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Season by season
| Season | Team | M | Runs | HS | Avg | SR | 50/100 | Wkts | Econ | Best | Ct | POTM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 13 | 165 | 38 | 15.0 | 105.1 | 0/0 | 2 | 7.79 | 2/25 | 2 | ||
| 2009 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 16 | 246 | 50 | 22.4 | 112.3 | 1/0 | 0 | 7.67 | - | 9 | ||
| 2010 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 16 | 307 | 58 | 27.9 | 144.8 | 1/0 | 0 | 9.09 | - | 3 | ||
| 2011 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 16 | 557 | 71 | 46.4 | 121.1 | 4/0 | 2 | 8.02 | 1/8 | 7 | 2 | |
| 2012 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 15 | 364 | 73* | 28.0 | 111.7 | 2/0 | 0 | 16.33 | - | 7 | ||
| 2013 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 16 | 639 | 99 | 45.6 | 139.2 | 6/0 | – | – | – | 7 | 3 | Captain |
| 2014 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 14 | 359 | 73 | 27.6 | 122.1 | 2/0 | – | – | – | 7 | Captain | |
| 2015 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 16 | 505 | 82* | 45.9 | 130.8 | 3/0 | 0 | 5.45 | - | 7 | 1 | Captain |
| 2016 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 16 | 973 | 113 | 81.1 | 152.0 | 7/4 | 0 | 9.75 | - | 6 | 5 | Captain |
| 2017 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 10 | 308 | 64 | 30.8 | 122.2 | 4/0 | – | – | – | 5 | Captain | |
| 2018 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 14 | 530 | 92* | 48.2 | 139.1 | 4/0 | – | – | – | 8 | Captain | |
| 2019 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 14 | 464 | 100 | 33.1 | 141.5 | 2/1 | – | – | – | 5 | 1 | Captain |
| 2020 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 15 | 471 | 90* | 42.8 | 122.0 | 3/0 | – | – | – | 3 | 1 | Captain |
| 2021 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 15 | 405 | 72* | 28.9 | 119.5 | 3/0 | – | – | – | 8 | Captain | |
| 2022 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 16 | 341 | 73 | 22.7 | 116.0 | 2/0 | – | – | – | 9 | 1 | |
| 2023 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 14 | 639 | 101* | 53.3 | 139.8 | 6/2 | – | – | – | 13 | 2 | |
| 2024 | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 15 | 741 | 113* | 61.8 | 154.7 | 5/1 | – | – | – | 8 | 2 | |
| 2025 | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 15 | 657 | 73* | 54.8 | 144.7 | 8/0 | – | – | – | 3 | 1 | Champions |
| 2026 | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 16 | 675 | 105* | 56.3 | 165.8 | 5/1 | – | – | – | 9 | 3 | Champions |
Franchise journey
- Royal Challengers Bangalore: 2008 to 2026
Ball-by-ball detail
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Dot balls faced | 32.5% |
| Balls per four | 8.2 |
| Balls per six | 21.9 |
| Dot balls bowled | 20.7% |
| Balls per wicket | 62.8 |
| Catches | 126 |
| Run-outs | 20 |
| Stumpings | 0 |
Sources
- CricArcade IPL season statistics
- Kaggle IPL Complete Match Dataset 2008-2026, ball-by-ball, cross-checked against Cricsheet